Bernard Bormann has joined the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences as the new director of the Olympic Natural Resources Center (ONRC), and as a professor of forest ecology and physiology. He joins the ONRC after a 34-year career as a scientist with the U.S. Forest Service. His first day in the office was April 1.

Since 1989, Bormann has led the Long-Term Ecosystem Productivity Program for the Pacific Northwest Research Station located in Corvallis, OR. He brings with him a strong interest in adaptive management, and will focus his leadership at the ONRC–located in Forks, WA–on upholding the original intent of the center to serve as a hub of collaborative research. A neutral forum that unites researchers, students, professionals and the public, work at the center aims to solve critical issues in forestry and marine management throughout the Olympic Peninsula. He will also focus on developing and studying multiple creative, win-win solutions that can reverse declines in both ecological resilience and rural community well-being across the region.

Bormann has a long history in the Puget Sound region. Originally from New England, he received his B.S. in plant ecology from Evergreen State College in 1976, his M.S. in plant ecology from the University of Washington in 1978, and then his Ph.D. in forest physiology from Oregon State University in 1981.