Richard P(atrick) Reading (1962–) Biography

Born 1962, in Evanston, IL; Education: Trinity College (Hartford, CT), B.S. (biology), 1984; Yale University, M.S. (environmental studies), 1986, M.S. and M.Phil. (wildlife ecology), 1991, Ph.D. (wildlife ecology), 1993.

Addresses

Office—Denver Zoological Foundation, 2900 E. 23rd Ave., City Park, Denver, CO 80205.

Career

Trinity College Department of Biology, Hartford, CT, independent researcher, 1985; New York Zoological Society, menagerie keeper, 1986–88; Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, research associate, 1988–; Bureau of Land Management, wildlife management biologist, 1991–94; Nature Conservation International, Berlin, Germany, research associate, beginning 1994; Denver Zoological Foundation, Denver, CO, director of conservation biology, 1996–. University of Denver, associate research professor, 1997–, affiliated faculty of animal sciences and biology, 1998–2002; University of Montana, affiliated faculty in School of Forestry, 2001–; Denver Museum of Nature and Science, research associate, 2002–. Consultant to Victoria, Australia, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, 1991–94, UNDP/Global Environmental Fund and Mongolia Ministry for Nature and the Environment, 1994–95, and German Technical Advisory Group, 1995–97. Member, Lynx-Wolverine advisory team to Colorado Division of Wildlife, 1998–2001; scientific advisor, Southern Plains Lands Trust, Pritchett, CO, 1999–; member of board of directors, Argali Wildlife Research Center, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 1999–, Southern Plains Land Trust, 2001–03, Predator Conservation Alliance, 2001–, Mongolian Conservation Coalition, 2001–, and Denver-Ulaanbaatar sister cities committee, 2003–; member, AZA Special Task Force on Science and Technology, 2000–03; scientific advisor, Center for Native Ecosystems, 2000–; member of board of trustees, Colorado-Mongolian Project Cultural and Education Exchanges, 2000–04; member, reintroduction and Caprinae groups of IUCN Species Survival Commission.

Member

Society for Conservation Biology, Wildlife Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Institute of Biological Sciences, Natural Areas Association, Cenozoic Society, Large Herbivore Initiative.

Honors Awards

Yale University fellowship, 1988–93; Certificate of Appreciation, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Victoria, Australia), 1997; Certificate of Appreciation, Colorado Division of Wildlife, 2001; E-chievement Award, E-Town Radio and Whole Food, 2003; Certificate of Appreciation, Southern Plains Land Trust (Pritchett, CO), 2003; grants from Chicago Zoological Society, Earthwatch, Edna Sussman Fund, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Trust for Mutual Understanding, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and other organizations.

Writings

Black-footed Ferret Annotated Bibliography, 1986–1990, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Montana State Office, 1990.

(Editor with TIm W. Clark and Alice L. Clarke) Endangered Species Recovery: Finding the Lessons, Improving the Process, Island Press (Washington, DC), 1994.

Latin-Mongolian-Russian-English-German Dictionary of the Vertebrate Species of Mongolia, Sukhbaatar Publishing House (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), 1995.

(With Brian Miller and Steve Forrest) Prairie Night: Black-footed Ferrets and the Recovery of Endangered Species, Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington, DC), 1996.

Protected Areas Rangers Training Manual, Mongolian Ministry for Nature and the Environment (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), 1996.

(Editor with Brian Miller) Endangered Animals: A Reference Guide to Conflicting Issues, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 2000.

Ecology and Conservation of Wild Bactrain Camels, Camelus bactrianus ferus, Mongolian Conservation Coalition & Admon Printing (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), 2002.

Contributor to periodicals, including Journal of Phycology, Bulletin of Marine Science, Anthrozös, Conservation Biology, Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative News, Species, Zoo Review, Zoogoer, Reintroduction News, Endangered Species, Grasslands Gazette, CMS Bulletin, and Biological Conservation. Contributor to books.

Author's works have been translated into Mongolian.

Sidelights

Richard P. Reading is currently the director of conservation biology at the Denver Zoological Foundation, in addition to his numerous other posts. As part of his work as a wildlife biologist, Reading has spend many years involved in the conservation issues surrounding the species and ecosystem in Mongolia. He is currently a major participant in the Mongolia Carnivore Project, a scientific research project studying the biology and conservation of meat-eating animals living in the grassland and semi-desert steppes of that region. The project studies the ecology, behavior, and community-level interactions among steppe carnivores with a goal of developing sufficient conservation measures to ensure the long-term survival of these creatures and preserve their native habitat.

Reading is the author or coeditor of several books, among them Endangered Animals: A Reference Guide to Conflicting Issues. Edited by Reading and colleague Brian Miller, the book seeks to raise awareness of the issues surrounding endangered species and the importance and impact of these pressing issues. The book presents specific case studies that provide an in-depth explanation of the species involved, including their history, threats, current status, and physical description. Erica B. Lilly, reviewing the book for the Reference & User Services Quarterly, commented that Reading "does an excellent job of updating similar early works that also describe endangered species," and added that the book's "strength is in the scholarly, yet fully accessible Reading's work on this 2000 reference work provides researchers with information concerning the debate surrounding protections legislated in defense of forty-nine animal species nearing extinction.treatment of each species." Paul Haschak, writing in Library Journal, cited the book's comprehensive bibliography, and concluded of Endangered Animals that, "Although the number of animals is limited, this guide is recommended for academic libraries requiring more detailed, scholarly information" on specific species.