Clay Nielsen, Ph.D.
Clayton K. Nielsen, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Forest Wildlife in the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Forestry at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). He teaches undergraduate/graduate courses in forest management for wildlife, research methods, and tropical ecology. Clay is active with The Wildlife Society (TWS) as the Past President of both the North Central Section and Illinois State Chapters. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist® and the advisor of the SIUC Student Chapter of TWS and Zoology Club. Clay serves as the Director of Scientific Research for the non-profit Cougar Network, is a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group, and a Research Associate with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative. In addition to having published >100 scholarly works and having given >280 guest lectures and presentations at professional meetings, his research has been showcased by major media outlets such as TIME magazine, National Geographic magazine, NPR, the History Channel, and the Discovery Channel. Clay and his graduate students study ecology and management of wildlife species, with a focus on carnivores.