Rate My Professor Joel Heinen

Joel T. Heinen is Professor of Earth and Environment at Florida International University (FIU), where he has served since 1993. Initially appointed as Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, he advanced to Associate Professor in 1997 and was Chair of Environmental Studies from 2002 to 2008 before becoming full Professor in 2008. He has also held summer visiting professor appointments at the University of Michigan Biological Station from 1993 to 2017. Heinen earned his Ph.D. in Resource Ecology and Management from the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment in 1992, M.S. in Behavioral and Community Ecology from Ohio State University in 1984, M.S. in Resource Management and Remote Sensing from Virginia Tech in 1982, and B.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan in 1979.

Specializing in biodiversity conservation policy, Heinen's research interests encompass conservation biology and policy as well as terrestrial vertebrate ecology. His publications include "Perceptions of, and Motivations for, Land Trust Conservation in Northern Michigan: An Analysis of Key Informant Interviews" (Sustainability, 2021), "Regulatory compliance of community-based conservation organizations: Empirical evidence from Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal" (Sustainability, 2020), "Trends, patterns and networks of illicit wildlife trade in Nepal: A national synthesis" (Conservation Science and Practice, 2020), "Palm snags are a critical nesting resource for woodpeckers in an urbanized tropical region" (Urban Ecosystems, 2020), "Challenges in the conservation of an over-harvested plant species with high socio-economic values" (Sustainability, 2019), "Browse-mediated succession by deer and elk 40 y after a clearcut in northern lower Michigan" (American Midland Naturalist, 2019), and many others addressing conservation attitudes, policy implementation, and wildlife management in Nepal, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Florida. Heinen has received the Fulbright Senior Scholar award in 1999 for Kyrgyzstan, East-West Center Visiting Fellowship in Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation in 2000, Teaching Incentive Program Award from the State University System of Florida in 1997, Matriculation Merit Award from FIU in 2001, and Provost's Faculty Research Award in 2001. He is a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission since 1995, served on the United States National Ramsar Committee from 2007 to 2012, and holds affiliated faculty positions in Asian Studies and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at FIU. His contributions have advanced understanding of community-based conservation and protected area management.