Meet Mike Watling. On July 1, 2021 he became FIF's new President.
Dear Fox Friends,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the incoming president of Friends of the Island Fox.
I have been a member of the FIF advisory committee for the past five years and a member of the Board for the past year, helping to shape the future of FIF following the delisting of the island fox. My background is in the biomedical field where for the past 23 years I have been working on diagnostic test kits for human cancer. I am also trained as a California naturalist through the University of California, certified as a wildlife tracker through CyberTracker North America, and a volunteer naturalist with Channel Islands National Park and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. (He's also a great wildlife photographer.)
I'm also married with two daughters: one a wildlife biologist in northern California and the other a pre-veterinary student at California State University Channel Islands.
The global pandemic and worsening drought in California, and throughout the west, have strengthened FIF's commitment to provide grant funding for researchers seeking more knowledge about fox diet, microbiome, range size, interactions with the island spotted skunk, as well as our continued support for radio collars and vaccines.
Your generous contributions have made these things possible. The mission of FIF is to work together to protect the island fox and their island home and that focus will remain as strong going forward as it has in the past. Its Science, for Fox Sake!
Best,
Mike Watling
President, Friends of the Island Fox
Mike@islandfox.org
Meet the entire FIF Board of Directors 2021
See Mike's posts on Identifying the Foxes of North America
Apply for the FIF 2021 Research Grant (now through Aug. 31)