Noah Matson

Noah directs Defenders' effort to create and implement policies and strategies to safeguard wildlife and habitat from the impacts of global warming. Working with a team of scientists, policy experts, attorneys, and communications specialists, Noah is developing climate change adaptation strategies for land and wildlife managers, and is working to influence climate change adaptation policies in federal agencies. Noah was the project director for Defenders' award-winning report, Refuges at Risk: the Threat of Global Warming, which highlighted the impacts of global warming on national wildlife refuges and recommendations to address the impacts. Previous to his current position, Noah took lead responsibility in working with the U.S. Congress, state agencies, and non-governmental organizations on initiatives to enhance habitat conservation on public and private lands and supervised all of Defenders' land conservation programs including the Conservation Planning Program, the Federal Lands Program, and the Oregon Biodiversity Program. Before joining Defenders of Wildlife in 1999, Noah worked for the U.S. Geological Survey where he conducted hydrology studies and the National Park Service where he worked as a ranger teaching marine ecology to children. He holds a B.S. in biology-geology from the University of Rochester and a Masters of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.