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Mark Stafford
President
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find parrots engaging, fascinating, and amazing. Through my experiences of
living with parrots and the extensive time spent observing, studying and
filming them in the wild, I have developed a deep commitment to their
conservation. My wife
Marie
and I are committed to making a difference in the future of parrots
in the wild.
I
feel I can best leverage my commitment to the understanding and
conservation of parrots via Parrots International. My goal is to direct
Parrots International into an organization that works cooperatively with
other conservation organizations, parrot enthusiasts, field
researchers, conservation projects, donors, aviculturists, and other
parrots related organizations with the knowledge that the whole is greater
than the sum of the parts.
Bio
Mark received his college education with two Bachelors degrees;
Environment Studies and Environmental Biology. He received his DDS degree
from UCLA, summa cum laude.
Dr. Mark
Stafford is the founding director and president of Parrots International.
Parrots International is a not for profit organization dedicated to the
promoting and fostering international cooperation in the conservation of
endangered parrot species. Parrots International works in cooperation with
other conservation organizations, donors, field research teams,
responsible aviculturists and parrot clubs to assist, propose, develop and
fund conservation projects throughout the world. The basic premise of
Parrots International is that "Conservation happens in the Wild."
Mark and
his wife, Marie, have traveled extensively throughout Central and South
America, and the Caribbean to view, photograph and film wild parrots. The
goal of these trips has been to gain an understanding of the natural
history of endangered parrot species, the environmental and human derived
pressures relating to their endangered status, and to understand the
possible steps that can be taken to bring these beautiful parrots back
from the brink of extinction.
Dr Stafford
has directed Parrots International to help fund research and conservation
projects for the Hyacinth Macaws in Brazil; the Great Green Macaw in Costa
Rica; the Lears Macaw in Bahia, Brazil; the Yellow Shouldered Amazon in
Bonaire, the Bahama Amazon in Abaco, the Blue-fronted Amazon in the Chaco
of Argentina, the Military Macaw in the Oaxaca State of Mexico, and the
Puerto Rican Parrot, one of the ten rarest birds in the world. In addition
Parrots International is involved in the land purchase, habitat
restoration and the future release of the Spix’s Macaw back into the wild.
In 2006 Mark and Marie received recognition at the US Capital LBJ Room by
the head of the US Fish and Wildlife Service for their assistance with the
Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Project. Dr. Stafford, and Parrots
International, is a member of the Committee for the Management and
Conservation of the Hyacinth Macaw, as well as a consultant for the
Committee for the Management and Conservation of the Lear’s Macaw and the
Spix’s Macaw Working Group.
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