Speaker Biography: Paul Sihler

Paul Sihler is the Partnership Coordinator for a unique collaborative effort by a group of land trusts located in the Northern Rockies. The collaborative effort seeks to develop collective priorities for land conservation at a landscape scale and then to leverage the power of multiple organizations with a shared vision and goals to enhance the collective capacity within the region to conserve the most critical lands. Previously he was employed by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks where he worked in the Director’s Office on policy and special projects and later as a Division Administrator. Paul has spent much of his career initiating or facilitating collaborative processes, including the Governor’s Whirling Disease Task Force, the Governor’s Bull Trout Restoration Team, and a negotiated rulemaking process for game farms. Earlier in his career, he staffed the House and Senate Natural Resource Committees of the Montana Legislature and worked for The Keystone Center, a nonprofit dispute resolution organization. Paul holds a Master’s degree in Natural Resource Policy and Management from the University of Michigan and is a member of the Ecosystem Management Initiative's Alumni Affiliates Network. Paul also holds a BA in Political Science and Environmental Studies from the University of Washington.