In Memory
Fern was born in Michigan and was always personally and professionally attuned to the wilderness–especially birds. He spent uncountable hours outdoors studying all aspects of the natural world. He started pursuing his scientific career at the University of Michigan, and then did graduate studies in Freiburg and Berlin, Germany. His academic work took him to Africa and many regions of Europe.
He worked for the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife from 1984 -2021, focusing on Hawaii’s unique wetland and forest ecosystems, and their respective Native Hawaiian birds–as well as unique coastal and montane Hawaiian seabirds.
Fern spent more than 30 years conserving the flora and fauna of Hawaii. He truly enjoyed working with Pacific Birds because of its unique focus on cross-border birds and habitats and its international networking reach that promotes bird conservation at a scale that can save species. GO BIRDS! He savored the opportunities he had within unique and biologically diverse Hawaiian habitats, and to be able to touch, hold, hear and conserve the Native species found nowhere else on our Earth.
