John became a supervisor after a 40 year career in rangeland management as a way to give back to the community and stay professionally involved in natural resources. He’s been married to Ann for 40 years and has 3 daughters and 9 grandchildren. John’s favorite things about the Cody Conservation District are interacting with the public, learning more about our area, and being able use his professional experience to serve the community.

John has a B.S. and M.S in Rangeland Resources from Oregon State University and a Ph.D. in Range Science (Economics) from Utah State University. He worked as a rangeland economist for Oregon State University where he taught, mentored graduate students, and conducted extension and research on sustainable grazing on public and private lands. He was then a Department Head in Ecosystem Science and Management at the University of Wyoming followed by being the Associate Director of the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station and Director of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Lingle and the Powell Research and Extension Center. Most of his research has been on the economic impacts of grazing practices and public policy on public land ranchers and implications on federal and state natural resource agencies and on the economic, social, and ecological aspects of rangeland sustainability.