Marcus B. Gray, MS

Certified Wildlife Biologist®

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A Little About Me

I am a professional Certified Wildlife Biologist® that has worked on a variety of species from elephants and other large mammals to birds and butterflies. I’ve captured deer, collared mountain lions, rocket-netted waterfowl, performed bear den checks, trapped feral hogs & more. My BS (2006) is from Maine’s Unity College in Wildlife Conservation and I attained a MS (2009) in Wildlife Science from South Dakota State University.

My experience includes wildlife diseases, fundraising & non-profit organization management. Currently, I serve as the Executive Director for Sustainable Monarch (https://www.sustainablemonarch.org/). Previously, I managed the largest coordinated effort for pollinators on golf courses – Monarchs In The Rough – for Audubon International. The program is working with more than 755 golf courses across North America to establish and protect at least 1,070 new acres of habitat. Check social media for updates using #MonarchsInTheRough or on monarchsintherough.org for more information.

Prior to joining Audubon International, I was the inaugural Executive Director for the North American Butterfly Association. The activities I have undertaken to promote gardening for wildlife have led to numerous articles, radio spots, podcasts & tv appearances: https://www.pbs.org/video/attracting-butterflies-classic-gardening-practices-1905-2crhhd/

My hope is that people will recognize the taxa of interest doesn’t matter as much as the vegetative condition on the ground.

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My Work & Research Interests

I am interested in mitigating human-wildlife conflict, creating habitat at the landscape-level and studying the natural systems which shape and guide the processes of the world. My long-term goal is to reconnect people to nature and understand our role in the environment. Learn more about these projects below.

Experienced Practitioner

Building upon work completed during graduate school on black-tailed prairie dogs in South Dakota, time as the Wildlife Disease Biologist in Virginia with USDA-APHIS-WS and managing projects globally with SCI Foundation, I have developed a skill set which brings a unique perspective to novel program development, fundraising and implementation. A major advantage of this background is the ability to synthesize examples from diverse regions and distill them into successful conservation on-the-ground.

Butterfly Conservation

There is a serious need for large scale habitat for butterflies and other pollinators.

Since 2016, I have been focusing on a rediscovered interest in butterflies, hummingbirds and gardening. I took my experiences with NGO fundraising and administrative oversight and applied it to the drastic decline in habitat butterflies need. With the North American Butterfly Association we produced several promotional videos that I wrote the copy for and supplied editorial direction for the imagery. Combining my rekindled passion for butterflies and work with landowners/other stakeholders, #MonarchsInTheRough crystalized. I had been searching for a way to establish a network of reserves for butterflies and Audubon International supplied the opportunity without having to purchase land - collaborate with golf courses. With RC&D Councils, I worked with landowners on improving the sustainability (and thus profitability) of their operations and golf courses could work in a similar way. Now, with Sustainable Monarch, my focus is on economic incentives to maintain habitat across land use types.

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