J. Michael Fay
{{Short description|American ecologist and conservationist}}
{{Other people|Michael Fay|Michael Fay (disambiguation)}}
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J. Michael Fay (born September 1956, Plainfield, New Jersey) is an American ecologist and conservationist notable for, among other things, the MegaTransect, in which he spent 455 days walking 2,000 miles (3,200 km) across Africa and the MegaFlyover in which he and pilot Peter Ragg spent months flying 70,000 miles in a small plane at low altitude, taking photographs every twenty seconds. Both projects were sponsored by the National Geographic Society, which produced articles and documentaries about the projects.{{cite web |title=J. Michael Fay profile |url=https://explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org/error |publisher=National Geographic Society |access-date=February 16, 2022}}
Biography
Fay graduated in 1978 from the University of Arizona, and then joined the Peace Corps working in Tunisia and the Central African Republic. In 1984 he joined the Missouri Botanical Garden. He completed his doctorate on the western lowland gorilla in 1997, while also surveying large forest blocks by aeroplane and working to create and manage the Dzanga-Sangha park and the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in the Central African Republic and Republic of the Congo. He has worked for the Wildlife Conservation Society since 1990, and was an Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society. {{citation needed|date=January 2024}}
In 2006, Fay and National Geographic photographer Michael Nichols traveled to Zakouma National Park to document the danger poachers create for the world's largest remaining concentration of elephants. Their trip resulted in [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725140836/http://mediastorm.org/0016.htm Ivory Wars, Last Stand in Zakouma]. He has testified before the United States Congress on the need for preservation of wildlife and habitat.{{cite web |title=Testimony|url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/12221322/testimony-dr-j-michael-fay-iccf |publisher=yumpu.com |access-date=February 16, 2022}}
As of 2022, he is working on conservation projects in Gabon with the Agence Nationale Des Parcs Nationaux.{{cite journal |title=African forest elephant movements depend on time scale and individual behavior |year=2021 |publisher=Nature |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-91627-z |last1=Beirne |first1=Christopher |last2=Houslay |first2=Thomas M. |last3=Morkel |first3=Peter |last4=Clark |first4=Connie J. |last5=Fay |first5=Mike |last6=Okouyi |first6=Joseph |last7=White |first7=Lee J. T. |last8=Poulsen |first8=John R. |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=12634 |pmid=34135350 |pmc=8208977 |bibcode=2021NatSR..1112634B |s2cid=235460089 }}{{cite web |title=Gabon provides blueprint for protecting oceans |url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220208105227.htm |publisher=Science Daily |access-date=February 16, 2022}}
See also
References
External links
- [http://unukriverpost.org/ Unuk River Post] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008172531/http://unukriverpost.org/ |date=2011-10-08 }}
- [http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/oes/rls/25877.htm US Department of State biography]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20000815053117/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/congotrek/ National Geographic]
- [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4803547 National Public Radio transcript on MegaFlyover]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080713041814/http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/megatransect-gallery.html National Geographic Photo Gallery: Megatransect]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725140836/http://mediastorm.org/0016.htm Ivory Wars], produced by Mediastorm
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090508081059/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNADM545.pdf A survey of the proposed Nouabale conservation area in northern Congo, J. Michael Fay, et al., Wildlife Conservation International, September 1990]
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Category:American environmentalists
Category:People from Plainfield, New Jersey
Category:University of Arizona alumni
Category:Missouri Botanical Garden people
Category:American expatriates in Tunisia
Category:American expatriates in the Central African Republic