A Life Devoted to Placed-Based, Real-World Solutions
Dr. Charles G. Curtin
I hold a Ph.D. in Zoology and an M.S. in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin, but am very much a place-based, and community oriented scientist, enthusiastic to be out in the field. Thus, having spent four decades working at this intersection of science, policy, and environmental change has brought me to a place of being deeply devoted to understanding human and ecological systems.
My work focuses on designing and leading large-scale, community-based responses to complex environmental challenges, including the establishment of major place-based conservation and research initiatives across North America, such as the Malpai Borderlands, the Blackfoot Challenge, and large marine co-management and fisheries restoration programs in the Western Atlantic and along the Maine coast.
I have helped develop academic programs in governance and policy design at MIT and other universities and have taught courses in adaptive management, ecology, and complex systems at MIT, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and elsewhere. My experience includes directing large ecological experiments, coordinating international conservation efforts, and authoring more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and several books, which have been cited over 8,000 times.
I work on conservation projects that tackle urgent environmental and social challenges by linking science, collaboration, and action on the ground. My work ranges from ecological research on climate change, restoration, fisheries, grasslands, and forests to designing adaptive, regenerative approaches for landscapes facing wildfire, energy, and watershed pressures. I focus on landscape, scale, and cross-cultural partnerships, working with ranchers, farmers, communities, and international networks to co-create solutions that sustain both ecosystems and livelihoods. Rather than building institutions, my goal is to develop practical, transferable models and communicate them through writing, teaching, and outreach so others can replicate, refine, and expand these solutions.