Jay is joined by Ryan Trimbath, a Biologist at Cuyahoga Valley National Park where he has worked for the last eight years. Prior to working for the NPS, Ryan got a degree in Wildlife & Conservation Biology from Ohio University (2007) then traveled around the country working as a field biologist on various research projects. During this time, he honed his skills as a field biologist and pursued his interests in forest and avian ecology. Ryan has the honor of being the only Ornithologist to ever hold a living Northern Parula x Cerulean Warbler hybrid which he discovered at Deep Lock Quarry in 2014, with a second bird found at Oak Hill in 2015. You can read more about this discovery in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology “Evidence for hybridization between Northern Parula (Setophaga americana) and Cerulean warbler (S. cerulea)” (Trimbath et al. 2019).

This is a two-part interview.

Jay interviews Jihadda Govan, the Monument Manager of Sand to Snow National Monument in Southern California which encompasses 154,000 acres and is co-managed by the Bureau of Land Management (83,000 acres) and U.S. Forest Service (71,000 acres). Jihadda holds a bachelor’s degree from California Polytechnic University, Humboldt, where she studied wildlife management with an emphasis in ornithology, botany, and environmental planning. She grew up in the Pasadena/Altadena areas, where she spent time hiking and exploring in the San Gabriel Mountains which sparked her love of the outdoors. Jihadda has previously worked as a wildland firefighter, wildlife biologist, and wildlife refuge and preserve manager.