Professor of Park Management and Conservation, Kansas State University

Brian Peterson is a professor at Kansas State University with the department of Park Management and Conservation. He completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of San Diego as a pre-med student who majored in biology and minored in chemistry. At the University of San Diego Brian was also a collegiate cross country and track student athlete. After undergraduate education Brian worked as a high school biology and chemistry teacher for seven years in San Diego, CA. Brian decided to change career trajectories after a three month backpacking trip along the Pacific Crest Trail, and became a chainsaw sawyer for the California Conservation Corps working on fire management projects at the urban wildland interface in California. This conservation work got Brian interested in research of the conservation of parks and protected areas. Brian completed his master’s at the University of Utah with the department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, and completed his doctoral degree at Clemson University with the department of Park, Recreation, and Tourism Management. Brian’s research focuses on advancing spatiotemporal understanding of visitor travel patterns within parks and protected areas. His research typically synthesizes GIS applications, social science, and recreation ecology. Brian has conducted research for many protected areas, including: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, Bonneville Salt Flats, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Buffalo National River, and the Appalachian Trail.