Clint Boal, a professor within the Texas Tech Department of Natural Resources Management and Leader of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Texas Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research in Lubbock, was awarded the Safety Excellence Award from the USGS Cooperative Research Units. The honor, in part, is in recognition for Boal’s dedication to becoming a Wilderness First Aid Instructor.
The USGS 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.
"I’ve been a first aid instructor for several years, but my interest in becoming a wilderness first aid instructor was to be able to provide training for students that work in remote field environments,” Boal said. “Conducting field research often involves varying types and degrees of risk. I don’t want anyone getting hurt on my watch, but even more so I want them to know what to do if they are."
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 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 & Wildlife and Bylaws Committee Chair for the Raptor Research Foundation.
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).
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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