The Greater Ozarks Audubon Society (GOAS) will meet March 19 at 5:30 pm at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center. Refreshments and socializing start at 5:30 pm with the presentation at 6:15 pm, followed by a membership meeting.

Program Title: Birds and Beyond: Where do we go from here? What do Missouri Ozark forests, Interior Least Terns, Tanzania, Bald Eagle nests, volunteers, bird–window collisions, and the wind industry have in common? More than you might think. Janet Haslerig, Avian Ecologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, will present how she connects the dots between birds, people, and conservation—locally and around the world.

Born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Janet earned a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science from Middle Tennessee State University, a Master of Science in Wildlife Management from the University of Missouri–Columbia, and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Florida. She has worked with the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, several nonprofit organizations, and Tuskegee University. Since 2008, she has served as an Avian Ecologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation in Jefferson City. Janet has traveled and worked extensively in Tanzania and Ghana, focusing on human–wildlife conflict in protected areas. Her passion for wildlife was sparked early in life by watching Marlin Perkins on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.