Dr. Christian Grue

Unit Leader

Chris grew up with his brother and sister in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California. After completing high school, he was convinced he wanted to be a dentist and pursued undergraduate studies in zoology at the University of California at Los Angeles. After his junior year, he transferred to the University of California at Santa Barbara in order to move away from home and be with his future wife, Suzanne. While at UCSB, he took a three quarter course on the natural history of vertebrates. It was that course, particularly the field work (foraging ecology of White-tailed Kites in a slough near campus) that made him consider pursuing graduate studies in ornithology.

Chris and Suzanne were married the following June and spent that summer in Santa Barbara before he began his Master's program in biology at Northern Arizona University. At NAU, he studied the effects of power line construction on bird populations in three Arizona habitats (pinyon juniper woodland, desert grassland, and desert scrub) under the direction of Dr. Russ Balda. In 1974, Chris was accepted to the doctoral program in wildlife and fisheries sciences at Texas A&M University. There he studied the relations ship between mourning dove call counts and habitat along the State's call-count survey routes under the guidance of Dr. Nova Silvy. While he was conducting his graduate field work, his wife Suzanne pursued a Master's degree in library science at the University of Washington. Chris completed his Master's and Ph.D. degrees in 1977.

In 1978, Chris accepted a position as Research Wildlife Biologist in the Environmental Contaminant Research Branch of the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland. There his research focused on the effects of environmental contaminants on songbirds and the effects of agricultural chemicals on the quality of prairie wetlands for adult and juvenile waterfowl. His two daughters and son were born in Maryland. After nearly twelve years at Patuxent, Chris was offered and accepted the position of Leader of the Washington Unit. He has served in this capacity since 1989.

Chris's research at the University of Washington (primarily that of his graduate students) has focused on the efficacy and non-target effects of chemical control of non-native invasive aquatic plants (purple loosestrife and smooth cordgrass), water quality and wetland wildlife habitat restoration on the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, and an evaluation of the protection of biodiversity in Washington State (Gap Analysis). In addition to his responsibilities as Unit Leader, he currently serves on several academic committees in the College of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, teaches a class in wildlife toxicology, and is a member of the Washington Department of Ecology's Eco-Risk Subcommittee of the Agency's Science Advisory Board related to issues of implementing the State's Model Toxics Control Act, and the Technical Steering Team for the Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Program of the Biological Resources Division, US Geological Survey. He is an active member of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the Wildlife Society.