Washington, D.C. – Peter Vitousek, an ecologist and the Clifford G. Morrison Professor of Population and Resource Studies at Stanford University, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the National Parks Conservation Association. The board is the governing body for the nonprofit, which is the nation’s leading voice for national parks.

“Peter Vitousek is a leader in ecological research, and has a terrific understanding of many of the major threats to our national parks,” said NPCA President Tom Kiernan. “We are thrilled to have him on our board, and welcome his passion for conservation.”

Vitousek is a fellow of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, director of Stanford’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, and a co-director of the Hawaii Ecosystems Project and the First Nations Futures Program.

Vitousek’s research topics have included evaluation of the global cycles of nitrogen and phosphorus, and how they are altered by human activity; determination of the effects of invasive species on the workings of whole ecosystems; understanding how the interaction of land and culture contributed to the sustainability of Hawaiian society before European contact; and more generally, using the extraordinary ecosystems of Hawaii as models for understanding the world.  He has conducted much of his research in national parks.

Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association has been the leading voice of the American people in the fight to safeguard our National Park System. NPCA, its members, and partners work together to protect the park system and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for our children and grandchildren.

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