Erwin E Klaas

Dr. Klaas is an ISU Professor Emeritus of Animal Ecology.  He came to Iowa State in 1975 and served as Professor of Animal Ecology and Asst. Leader and Leader of the co-op Unit until he retired on December 31, 1999. He joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1971 as a research wildlife biologist at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland where he conducted research on the effects of DDT on birds.  At Iowa State, he guided graduate students on pesticide effects, waterfowl energetics and ecology, wild turkey survival and habitat analysis. He is currently an Asst. Commissioner of the Story County, Soil and Water Conservation District and represents the District on the Prairie Rivers of Iowa Board of Directors and the Squaw Creek Watershed Authority Board.  He also serves as the President of Friends of Ada Hayden Heritage Park. During retirement he has taught and taken courses in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute here at Iowa State, organized an annual community reading of Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, and maintained an active membership in several environmental organizations. He enjoys nature photography, studying dragonflies and learning more about the science and politics of climate change. He and his wife, Janet, have been married for 48 years; they have three children and six grandchildren.