UNLV Public Lands Institute Hires Plant Expert

Program to monitor rare plants and advance ecological restoration of the desert ecosystem

April 7, 2006

LAS VEGAS-The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Public Lands Institute has named Dr. Scott Abella to lead its efforts to monitor sensitive and rare plant species in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS). As a Research Assistant Professor overseeing the NPS Vegetation Monitoring and Data Management Program, Abella will supervise a variety of vegetation research projects at Lake Mead National Recreation Area and adjacent lands. He will also teach part-time in the UNLV Department of Biological Sciences.

The vegetation monitoring program seeks to preserve and conserve various plant species of interest within all federal lands in Southern Nevada. The program addresses the monitoring of exotic, non-native plants, as well as shoreline and aquatic plants. It also bridges the gap between science and management to implement knowledge gained from research.

“We are in an ongoing struggle to protect Southern Nevada’s desert ecosystem from non-native plants overtaking native plants,” said Nancy Flagg, director of the Public Lands Institute. “Scott has extensive knowledge of vascular plants in the desert southwest and will be an asset to the vegetation monitoring program.”

Abella comes to UNLV from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where he was a research specialist with the Ecological Restoration Institute. While there, he performed field experiments that advanced the restoration of the ponderosa pine forest and Sonoran Desert. Abella previously worked for the Metroparks of the Toledo Area in Ohio and the Department of Forest Resources at Clemson University in South Carolina.

The Public Lands Institute is dedicated to strengthening the national fabric that is essential for the protection, conservation, and management of public lands. Its innovative partnership with the four land management agencies (Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service) was formally established in April 2004 to implement cooperative projects through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act that fit the university’s educational and research strengths. The act specifies that a portion of the proceeds from federal land sales in southern Nevada be used for capital improvements, education, and conservation initiatives on public lands.

More information about the UNLV Public Lands Institute and SNPLMA is available at http://publiclands.unlv.edu.

UNLV is a doctoral-degree-granting institution with more than 27,000 students and approximately 2,800 faculty and staff. More than 200 undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees are offered. Founded in 1957, UNLV is located on 337 acres in dynamic Southern Nevada. The university is ranked in the category of Doctoral/Research Universities-Intensive by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.