About the Author(s)

Susan M. Haig is a Wildlife Ecologist with the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center and a Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Oregon State University in Corvallis, OR. She completed her doctoral research on the population biology of Piping Plovers in 1987 and has worked on research and recovery efforts for the species since 1981. Currently, she coordinates the International Piping Plover Recovery Group and is the coordinator for the International Piping Plover Census which is carried out every five years. Her other research interests include conservation genetics of a number of avian species as well as population biology and recovery of shorebirds and birds in Micronesia.

Elise Elliott-Smith completed a B.A. at Pomona College and a M.S. at Southern Illinois University studying shorebird habitat relationships. She became interested in environmental studies and conservation while studying at the Maine Coast Semester and first studied birds in the Australian rainforest with the School for Field Studies. She has conducted songbird, raptor, and shorebird research with the Institute for Bird Populations, PRBO, Northwest Habitat Institute and the Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center. She currently works with Susan Haig, at the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, on a variety of research projects related to conservation of Snowy Plovers, Piping Plovers and other shorebird species.