Road Ecology Program Manager
Department: Western Transportation Institute
University System: Montana State University - Bozeman
Website(s): https://westerntransportationinstitute.org/wti_people/rob-ament/
Professional Summary:
B.S. Horticulture, Iowa State University
M.Sc. Biological Sciences, Montana State University.
Rob has more than 30 years of experience in ecology, natural resource management, environmental policy, and organizational development. At the Western Transportation Institute, Rob leads efforts to research, monitor and develop solutions to minimize the impacts of roads on the natural environment – wildlife, water, and vegetation. He is the principal investigator of several research projects on vegetation, climate change, and new technologies and oversees 10 staff in four cities in western North America working on approximately 20 road ecology research projects. He also serves as the senior conservationist for the non-profit Center of Large Landscape Conservation based in Bozeman, MT, where he works primarily on ecological connectivity policy and wildlife corridor protection.
He is on the Steering Committee for the International Conference on Ecology and Transportation, a member of the Stakeholders Advisory Group for the Western Governor’s Association’s Wildlife Corridor Initiative and was recently elected to Montana State University’s Sustainability Council. Mr. Ament is the treasurer for the Board of Directors of the Wildlands Network. He was an expert panelist for the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board in their development of a synthesis report on new technologies for environmental surveys (National Cooperative Highway Research Program).