Zach joins Conserve Southwest Utah with a vibrant and life-long interest in natural history! He is passionate about the equitable access of natural landscapes and scientific knowledge and he has a fondness for science communication. He values fostering understanding, connection, and curiosity of the natural world in local communities.
Zach moved to St. George three years ago from his hometown in northern Utah. He has years of experience at zoos, greenhouses, museums, and other non-profit organizations concerned with education, sustainability, and animal welfare. Zach is an experienced advocate for and educator of responsible landscape use, ethical and sustainable practices in the exotic plant and animal trade, zoological exhibition, and natural history.
Locally, Zach has dedicated his time through natural history consultation, community outreach, and public lands stewardship at organizations such as Conserve Southwest Utah, BLM, Nature Conservancy, Utah Tech University, St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site, and Washington County Water Conservancy District.
Zach took a non-traditional academic path, which allowed him the unique opportunity to travel throughout all the American deserts and experience their beauty, diversity, and fragility firsthand. He is currently completing an undergraduate degree in biology—with a focus on the ecology and evolution of scorpions and other arachnids—at Utah Tech University where he has collaborated with a vast network of experts, including the American Museum of Natural History, state and federal agencies, and tribal nation councils and communities. Most recently, Zach conducted a general survey of Washington County arachnids in collaboration with research colleagues abroad, which resulted in advanced knowledge of considerable range expansions for several poorly understood species and identification of several species that appear new to science.
For fun, Zach enjoys cataloging plant distributions, collecting old scientific periodicals, and playing music.