An Interview with Russel Barsh

Walking encyclopedia Russel Barsh is a conservationist, human ecologist, and downright jolly human being. Take a look at his life experiences:

• Harvard College, A.B. 1971 summa cum laude (thesis: Fijian agronomy & land tenure)
• Harvard Law School, J.D. 1974 cum laude
• University of Washington Assistant Professor, Business, Government & Society, 1974-1978
• University of Washington Associate Professor, Business, Government & Society, 1978-1984
• University of Washington Research Associate Professor, 1990-1992
• Royal Commission on Seals and the Sealing Industry (Canada), Member 1984-1986
• Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (Canada), Research Team Leader, 1992-1994
• UN Development Programme, Consultant, 1992-1993
• University of Lethbridge, Associate Professor of Native American Studies, 1993-2000
• Harvard University, Visiting Lecturer in Law, 1996
• Office of the Treaty Commissioner (Canada), Senior Adviser, 1997-1998
• International Labour Office, Consultant, 1995-1999
• Dartmouth College, Gordon Russell Visiting Professor, Winter-Spring 1999
• New York University, Adjunct Professor, Institute for Law & Society, 1999-2002
• Samish Indian Nation, Center for Coast Salish Environments, Director, 2003-2006
• Kwiáht, Executive Director, 2006-present
• National Endowment for the Humanities Senior Scholar, 1988-1989
• Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation Research Fellowships, 1992-1993, 1995-1996
• John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Writing Grant, 1996
• Jane Barfoot Hodde Historian of the Year, Orcas Island Historical Society, 2013

He has written or co-written over 150 papers and presentations, many with his partner Madrona Murphy. Here are some titles to give you an idea of his (and their) expertise:

• “Garry Oaks and Acorns in Native American Cultural Landscapes and Diets”
• “Juvenile Chinook”
• “Assessment of a novel Northern Flying Squirrel population at San Juan Island National Historical Park”
• “Foraging strategy, prey preferences and limited competition among forage fishes in the San Juan Islands; implications for Chinook recovery”
• “Climate change threatens net energy uptake, maturation, and reproduction of Pacific Sand Lance (Ammodytes personatus) in the central Salish Sea”

If there's anyone who loves what he does, it's Russel.