Jon Wiebe Email and Phone Number

As Program Manager of the LDWF Restoration Program, my primary responsibilities consist of coordination, direction, and programmatic oversight of defensible injury documentation and implementation of representative restoration and conservation measures for impacted natural resources in association with oil spills. As such, I am well versed in identifying problems, identifying potential solutions and then collaborating amongst stakeholders to influence the outcome that best serves the resource. I have experience within all restoration project facets (i.e., development, engineering and design, construction, monitoring and adaptive management). As much of the State’s expansive oil and gas complex resides within the coastal zone, I have gained extensive experience restoring for a variety of coastal habitats, implementing beneficial habitat features as well as the creation/enhancement of fisheries recreational opportunities. My principal restoration activities are centered around Deepwater Horizon (DWH) within the State’s coastal zone and northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) in association with the Louisiana and Regionwide Trustee Implementation Groups (TIGs). Active stakeholder engagement in legacy and emerging (e.g., alternative energy, coastal resiliency) topics remains a central component towards accomplishing programmatic goals and objectives.

As Biologist Manager for the LDWF Restoration and Oil Spill Program, I was the principal LDWF representative in addressing the DWH Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) process. As such, I was responsible for work plan development and implementation amongst a host of natural resource stakeholders (i.e., state, federal, responsible party, NGOs, private land owners). Work plans encompassed injury assessment for multiple taxa (e.g., birds, sea turtles, marine mammals, fish, aquatic invertebrates, SAV). Information gained from these efforts and related items (e.g., DARPs, peer-reviewed literature, toxicity studies, etc.) were utilized in determining the injury extent. My intimate knowledge of DWH response and assessment activities were instrumental in those efforts, as well as for prioritizing future natural resource restoration needs. I also supervised personnel (up to 12 biologists) who participated in ongoing Preassessment activities throughout several coastal basins.

As a Biologist Supervisor for the LDWF Fur and Marsh Management Program, I was responsible for application of targeted marsh management techniques and vegetative and water quality assessments within the LDWF Coastal Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) and refuges. Collectively, these activities supported the implementation of data-driven marsh management plans with the goal of facilitating increased public access to the State’s natural resources. Further, I participated in all facets of the highly successful Coastwide Nutria Control Program (LA-CW-1) which encourages the harvest of up to 400,000 nutria (Myocastor coypus) annually through an economic incentive payment ($5) per nutria tail delivered by registered participants to established collection centers in coastal Louisiana. This program is funded by the Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) through the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR) and the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). I supervised personnel (up to 2 biologists) working in the program area.

As a Biologist within the LDWF Alligator Program, I was responsible for the sustainable management of the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) through the State’s egg ranching and farming as well as wild adult harvest programs. I, along with Program personnel, annually gathered critical information (e.g., population estimates, harvest summary, farmed alligator hide inspections and releases and habitat suitability evaluations) which continues to demonstrate that Louisiana’s sustainable management practices cause “no detriment" (USFWS, Section 6 of ESA) to the State’s alligator population. I presented those data within domestic and international forums (Darwin, Australia; Santa Cruz, Bolivia). I maintain crocodilian research relationships throughout the world and continue to maintain professional membership within the International Union of the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Crocodile Specialist Group (CSG). My principal responsibilities were the coordination of coastwide egg collections with the LDWF coastal WMAs and the evaluation of adult alligator harvest quotas within delineated marsh types for coastal Louisiana parishes. Within both of those activities, I gained extensive experience interacting with a diverse array of resource stakeholders (e.g., state, federal, private landowners, NGOs, and general public). Further, I partnered with the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine (Dr. Javier Nevarez) regarding the implementation of several projects intended to document animal health and welfare (i.e., annual health surveys of Louisiana’s wild and farm-raised alligator populations) and survival (i.e., wild and farm-released alligator survival evaluated utilizing VHF telemetry). I also served as a technical expert for LDWF in reviewing potential litigation: Potential Effects of Mercury on Wildlife and Human Health.

As an environmental scientist within Dr. Gross’ Florida-based ecotoxicology program, I examined the effects of environmental stressors (i.e., chlorinated hydrocarbons, triazine herbicides, paper mill effluents, wastewater effluents and human health care products) and habitat modification on several representative wetland species (i.e., alligators, fish, amphibians, wading birds) within diverse aquatic environments (e.g., estuarine, riverine, lakes, etc.) throughout Florida and the broader United States.Within Florida, I coordinated / performed multi-year, paired field and laboratory studies which evaluated reproductive impairment (i.e., reduced egg viability, increased embryonic mortality and reduced hatchling growth and survivability) in relation to organochlorine pesticides (OCs) as well as additional environmental stressor (e.g., atrazine, mercury) exposure utilizing several representative oviparous models throughout central and south Florida (including the Everglades and designated Water Conservation Areas (WCAs). I also implemented multi-year, paired field and laboratory studies examining the influence of pulp and paper mill effluents on freshwater and estuarine fish reproductive health / secondary sex characteristics (i.e., Georgia Pacific / Palatka, Buckeye / Perry and Champion / Catamount) in northern Florida. Programmatic successes led to regional and nationwide fisheries surveys (i.e., USGS North American Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA), USGS Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST), USGS Water Resources Division (WRD), Mammoth Cave NP, Lake Mead) in coordination with natural resource stakeholders . These activities assessed the influence of environmental stressors (i.e., OCs and human wastewater effluents) on endocrine and reproductive health parameters within representative Bass species (Micropterus sp.), Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) as well as endangered species such as the Razorback Sucker (Xyrauchen texanus).

As an environmental scientist within Dr. Gross’ Florida-based ecotoxicology program, I examined the effects of environmental stressors (i.e., chlorinated hydrocarbons, triazine herbicides, paper mill effluents, wastewater effluents and human health care products) and habitat modification on several representative wetland species (i.e., alligators, fish, amphibians, wading birds) within diverse aquatic environments (e.g., estuarine, riverine, lakes, etc.) throughout Florida and the broader United States.Within Florida, I coordinated / performed multi-year, paired field and laboratory studies which evaluated reproductive impairment (i.e., reduced egg viability, increased embryonic mortality and reduced hatchling growth and survivability) in relation to organochlorine pesticides (OCs) as well as additional environmental stressor (e.g., atrazine, mercury) exposure utilizing several representative oviparous models throughout central and south Florida (including the Everglades and designated Water Conservation Areas (WCAs). I also implemented multi-year, paired field and laboratory studies examining the influence of pulp and paper mill effluents on freshwater and estuarine fish reproductive health / secondary sex characteristics (i.e., Georgia Pacific / Palatka, Buckeye / Perry and Champion / Catamount) in northern Florida. Programmatic successes led to regional and nationwide fisheries surveys (i.e., USGS North American Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA), USGS Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST), USGS Water Resources Division (WRD), Mammoth Cave NP, Lake Mead) in coordination with natural resource stakeholders . These activities assessed the influence of environmental stressors (i.e., OCs and human wastewater effluents) on endocrine and reproductive health parameters within representative Bass species (Micropterus sp.), Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) as well as endangered species such as the Razorback Sucker (Xyrauchen texanus).

As an environmental scientist within Dr. Gross’ Florida-based ecotoxicology program, I examined the effects of environmental stressors (i.e., chlorinated hydrocarbons, triazine herbicides, paper mill effluents, wastewater effluents and human health care products) and habitat modification on several representative wetland species (i.e., alligators, fish, amphibians, wading birds) within diverse aquatic environments (e.g., estuarine, riverine, lakes, etc.) throughout Florida and the broader United States.Within Florida, I coordinated / performed multi-year, paired field and laboratory studies which evaluated reproductive impairment (i.e., reduced egg viability, increased embryonic mortality and reduced hatchling growth and survivability) in relation to organochlorine pesticides (OCs) as well as additional environmental stressor (e.g., atrazine, mercury) exposure utilizing several representative oviparous models throughout central and south Florida (including the Everglades and designated Water Conservation Areas (WCAs). I also implemented multi-year, paired field and laboratory studies examining the influence of pulp and paper mill effluents on freshwater and estuarine fish reproductive health / secondary sex characteristics (i.e., Georgia Pacific / Palatka, Buckeye / Perry and Champion / Catamount) in northern Florida. Programmatic successes led to regional and nationwide fisheries surveys (i.e., USGS North American Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA), USGS Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST), USGS Water Resources Division (WRD), Mammoth Cave NP, Lake Mead) in coordination with natural resource stakeholders . These activities assessed the influence of environmental stressors (i.e., OCs and human wastewater effluents) on endocrine and reproductive health parameters within representative Bass species (Micropterus sp.), Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) as well as endangered species such as the Razorback Sucker (Xyrauchen texanus).

As the Curator of Primates at the Lubee Foundation, I managed one of the largest and most diverse captive colony of New World primates in the world consisting of 18 species of marmosets (Callithrix sp.) and tamarins (Saguinus sp.), and 5 species of spider monkeys (Ateles sp.). This captive population numbered approximately 200 animals. I also supervised 5 personnel working in the program. • Managed 5 animal keepers.