Please join us for the 65th Annual OWMA Conference on Friday January 17th, 2025 at the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center in Columbus, Ohio. Conference theme is Quality Habitat, Quality Wildlife

Dr. Darin McNeil has been invited to speak on the importance of early successional habitat to wildlife.

DJ McNeil is a wildlife biologist and assistant professor at the University of Kentucky where he and his students study wildlife responses to conservation efforts. His work spans a mix of private and public lands, however, he emphasizes the importance of private lands conservation because of the enormous conservation potential on such properties. Although the McNeil Lab studies a variety of ecosystems (e.g., savanna, grasslands, wetlands, urban), most of his research is targeted at forested systems and understanding how forest management efforts (especially those aimed at improving forest characteristics) affect wildlife species of conservation concern. Although Dr. McNeil has studied a wide variety of taxa – from lichens to lizards – his primary focal taxa include non-game birds (whip-poor-wills, cerulean/golden-winged warblers), game birds (bobwhites, ruffed grouse, woodcock) and pollinators (bees/butterflies).