IUCN WCPA Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group

Gary Tabor is an ecologist and wildlife veterinarian based in Bozeman, Montana in the United States. He was appointed CCSG Chair in 2016 to further advance pioneering work led by Dr. Graeme Worboys. Gary has worked on behalf of large landscape conservation for over 40 years in Africa, Australia, Canada, South America, and the United States, including as the co-founder of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, Patagonia’s Freedom to Roam wildlife corridor campaign, and the Network for Landscape Conservation.

Gary is the Founder and President of the Center for Large Landscape Conservation (CLLC). The Center aims to conserve ecological connectivity around the world by uniting and empowering communities to build climate resilience by protecting and connecting ecosystems that sustain humans and wildlife. Gary is also a Professor of Conservation Practice at Cornell University. He serves on the Board of the Global Health Initiative at the University of Wisconsin and as an Honorary Adjunct Associate Professor, in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Gary's work has been recognized by the International Association of Landscape Ecology with its Distinguished Practitioner Award. Gary is the recipient of the Superintendent's Award from Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in the USA.  

Dr. Jodi Hilty is president and chief scientist of the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, a joint US-Canada non-profit organization. Y2Y’s vision is an interconnected system of wild lands and waters stretching from Yellowstone to Yukon, harmonizing the needs of people with those of nature. A conservation biologist specializing in ecological corridor and large landscape research, she has over 25 years of experience managing large landscape conservation efforts. This work focuses on applying best available information to address complex conservation challenges through community-based and collaborative efforts. A co-editor or lead author on four books, her most recent release is 2019’s Corridor Ecology: Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Adaption. She currently serves on the Board of the Smith Postdoctoral Fellowship and as Deputy Chair of the IUCN Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group.

Zhicong Zhao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture at Tsinghua University, and the Deputy Director of the Institute for National Parks, China. She has over a decade of experience in research on the management and planning of protected areas, connectivity modeling, planning and policy advice, as well as large-scale landscape planning and management to balance conservation and development. She also teaches courses on landscape heritage protection and planning.