- Professor Emeritus of Environmental Design
Ph.D. (1980) Animal Science (Wildlife Productivity and Management), University of Alberta
Dr. Gates is a professor of environmental science and planning in the Faculty of Environmental Design. He is involved in applied conservation biology research, specifically projects and initiatives that address the implementation gap that connects scientific data, information and knowledge to conservation actions. While some of his students focus on cause and effect ecological relationships, typically involving anthropogenic activities, many others engage in interdisciplinary research addressing the implementation gap. This is environmental design research: research directed at the design or construction of products or processes to satisfy societal needs including conservation. Knowledge and skill sets required for this type of research typically involve some combination of quantitative ecology, spatial ecology, situation analysis, ecological restoration/reclamation, stakeholder analysis, facilitation, interest-based negotiation, legal and policy analysis, institutional capacity assessment, environmental assessment, cumulative effects assessment, community-based conservation, and planning theory. Dr. Gates is engaged in research in support of land use planning, specifically conservation design (networks, land use prescriptions, reclamation and restoration). His research involves a variety of taxa including bison, pronghorn, rattlesnakes, sage-grouse, and grasslands, foothills fescue and silver sage-brush community restoration. Although the main focus of his work is currently in grasslands, he has international interests in bison conservation from Mexico to Alaska.