Clint Boal has been named Unit Leader of the USGS Texas Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, according to Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources officials. He officially steps into his new post on Tuesday (Oct. 1). Boal currently serves as Assistant Leader of the USGS unit.
The federal research group, established at Texas Tech by the U.S. Congress in 1988, is a partnership between the university, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Wildlife Management Institute, and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
“The Texas Coop Unit has had a long and productive relationship with Texas Tech University and, in particular, Davis College,” Boal said. “Dr. Reynaldo Patino is leaving us in great shape, and I look forward to continuing our role in wildlife and fisheries research to address state and federal cooperators needs, and the production of well-prepared graduate students.”
Boal is a longtime professor within the Texas Tech’s Department of Natural Resources Management. An internationally recognized expert in birds of prey, he joined the Texas Tech faculty in 2000.
Today, his research is directed at addressing contemporary research and information needs of wildlife management agencies. “Although I study a broad array of species and management issues, my primary research interests are the ecology and conservation of predatory birds and their roles in biotic communities,” Boal said.
Boal received his doctorate from the University of Arizona. Honors include The Wildlife Society’s W.L. McAtee & G. V. Burger Award for Outstanding Service (2020), Raptor Research Foundation’s Fran & Frederick Hamerstrom Award (2019) and he was named American Ornithological Society Elective Member (2019).
He has authorship/co-authorship of more than 130 peer reviewed papers and 250 professional presentations focused on ecology, conservation and management of avian species, editorship of two books, and chairing of two international symposia.
In addition, he has served in several capacities of governance of ornithological societies, including past service as president of the Raptor Research Foundation. He is a member of the Wildlife Diversity Advisory Committee for Texas Parks and Wildlife; Bylaws Committee Chair for the Raptor Research Foundation; and the Texas Tech University Animal Care & Use Committee.
CONTACT: Richard Stevens, Interim Chair, President's Excellence in Research Professor and Professor of Natural Resources Management, Davis College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Texas Tech University at (806) 834-6843 or richard.stevens@ttu.edu
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