BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//UNL_UCBCN//NONSGML UNL Event Publisher//EN X-WR-CALNAME:SNR Seminars & Discussions CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20240923T170000Z UID:182835@events.unl.edu DTSTAMP:20240815T211447Z ORGANIZER;CN=Larkin Powell:MAILTO:lpowell3@unl.edu SUMMARY:School of Natural Resources Seminar\: Laurie Marker STATUS:CONFIRMED DESCRIPTION:Approximately 1\,000 of the world’s remaining 7\,000 cheetahs are found in Namibia\, known as the Cheetah Capitol of the World. However \, 90% of Namibia’s cheetahs live on livestock and game farms\, outside protected areas\, alongside rural farming communities\, putting them in co nflict with these farming enterprises. Cheetahs and other predators have t raditionally been considered vermin and not a valuable component of a heal thy ecosystem. During the 1980’s\, Namibian livestock and game farmers h alved the cheetah population\, removing (trapping and killing) nearly 8\,0 00 cheetahs from the landscape. To stop the decline of wild cheetahs\, in 1990 the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) was founded\, and set up a perman ent research and conservation Centre in Namibia. In order to maintain ecos ystem balance\, conservation strategies have been developed by CCF to enco urage sustainable land use while accommodating coexistence with native pre dator species. From CCFs early research into conflict mitigation\, CCF re ­searchers began developing and testing predator-friendly livestock manag ement techniques and tools on CCF’s 158\,000-acre integrated Model Farm and Wildlife Reserve such as the use of CCF Livestock Guarding Dogs and in tegrated livestock and wildlife management training programs called Future Farmers of Africa (FFA). FFA training courses build practical skills\, en abling rural Namibians to engage in sustainable livestock farming that pro ­vides direct and indirect economic benefits. One of the most-effective p redator management techniques CCF has implemented is its Livestock Guardin g Dog program. Since 1994\, CCF has bred and placed over 800 Anatolian she pherd and Kangal dogs with farmers\, at little cost\, to help guard farmer ’s small stock. The presence of these large dogs\, with a loud bark\, ac ts as an avoidance and is usually enough to keep most predators away from flocks. Farmers who use CCF LGDs report a drop in predation rates ranging from 80- 100%\, thus reducing pressure on farmers to kill or capture cheet ahs and other predators. CCF is adapting these programs to the Horn of Afr ica to help stop the illegal wildlife pet trade\, often caused by human wi ldlife conflict. CCF Namibia has a well-developed international Internship program which University of Nebraska Natural Resource Management students participate in annually. \n\nDr. Laurie Marker is the Founder and Executi ve Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund.\n\nDr. Laurie Marker is a Co nservation Scientist and one of the world’s leading cheetah experts. She founded Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) as the 1st global organization to save wild cheetahs in 1990. In 1974\, Dr. Marker began cheetah work at Or egon’s Wildlife Safari\, managing the veterinary clinic and developed th eir cheetah breeding program. In 1977 she conducted pioneering research in Namibia\, rewilding a captive born cheetah and learned that livestock far mers were killing hundreds of cheetahs yearly. Over the next decade she tr aveled to cheetah range countries studying wild cheetahs. In 1982\, her co llaborative research with the National Cancer Institute and the Smithsonia n’s National Zoo\, identified the cheetah’s lack of genetic diversity. She joined the Smithsonian in 1988 as Executive Director of NOAHS (New Op portunities in Animal Health Sciences) Center and moved to Washington DC. In 1990\, at Namibia’s independence\, she set up CCF and relocated to Na mibia\, to save wild cheetahs\, developing the first predator conservation program outside protected areas\, and setting the stage for her research into cheetah biology\, ecology\, conservation and integrated livestock\, w ildlife\, and rangeland management techniques to mitigate conflict. In 199 4\, Marker developed the livestock guarding dog program\, where over 800 A natolian and Kangal guarding dogs have been bred and placed with farmers t o protect their livestock. In addition\, she developed CCF’s Research an d Education Centre and 158\,000-acre private wildlife reserve/ conservancy and model farm\, veterinary clinic and genetics laboratory. In 2017\, Dr. Marker set up a field base in Somaliland to care for confiscated cheetah cubs from the illegal wildlife pet trade\, where they currently have 96 or phan cheetahs. In addition\, she has developed programs in the Horn of Afr ica to help stop the illegal wildlife trade. In 2023\, Marker helped with the reintroduction of cheetahs to India\, where they had been extinct for over 70 years. Through her work in Namibia\, as a global model\, she now w orks to develop range-wide research and community-based programs. Dr. Mark er holds a DPhil in Zoology from Oxford University in the UK\, is an A.D. White Professor-at-Large Emeritus at Cornell University in New York\, and an Adjunct Professor at University of Nebraska in the School of Natural Re source Management. She has more than 170 peer-reviewed scientific papers a nd four books on cheetah. Marker’s awards including the President’s Aw ard for Conservation (2020) and the Lowell Thomas Award (2010) from the Ex plorer’s Club\, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (2010)\, t he E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Pioneer Award (2015)\, and a Hero f or the Planet from Time Magazine. She recently received a nomination for t he prestigious 2025 Indianapolis Prize. Dr. Marker’s motto is “Save th e Cheetah and Change the World”. LOCATION:Hardin Hall Room 901 South, and online at Zoom View Seminars (http s://go.unl.edu/viewsrnseminars) URL://events.unl.edu/SNR_Seminar/2024/09/23/182835/ DTEND:20240923T180000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR