DR. virgil brack, jr.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER / principal scientist

Dr. Virgil Brack earned his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in wildlife ecology from the University of Missouri.  He continued his studies at Purdue University, earning a Ph.D. in 1983.  After working in environmental consulting for 15 years, Dr. Brack earned an MBA from Xavier University.  He is certified by The Wildlife Society as a Wildlife Biologist and by the Ecological Society of America as a Senior Ecologist.  Over the last 25 years Dr. Brack has assisted a wide variety of public and private sector clients with their environmental compliance needs. His technical expertise includes terrestrial ecology (including small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, game species, and habitat surveys) and aquatic ecology (including fisheries, mussels, aquatic macroinvertebrates, bathymetry, hydrology, and water quality).

Dr. Brack’s Ph.D. dissertation is on the federally endangered Indiana bat and his MS thesis is on the hibernation of bats.  He is a member of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sponsored Recovery Team for the Indiana bat.  Because of his unique and career-long involvement with a federally endangered species, he has a comprehensive knowledge of both Sections 7 and 10 of the Endangered Species Act that is rare to find in the consulting community.  He is author of dozens of Biological Assessments for various federally-endangered species.  He is also experienced with Habitat Conservation Plans and Comprehensive Conservation Plans. 

Dr. Brack has worked under the National Environmental Policy Act for many lead agencies, including FERC, state DOTs (FHWA), USACOE, USFWS, USDA-FS, FAA, and FCC.  He has managed and directed projects varying in size and complexity, ranging from large, multidisciplinary Environmental Impact Statements, all the way down to Level 1 Categorical Exclusions.  He has also prepared 7(c) filings on behalf of clients in support of FERC’s fulfillment of NEPA.

Dr. Brack has experience with wetland requirements under Sections 404 and 401 of the Clean Water Act.  He has completed delineation and functional values assessments, permitting, mitigation, and post-construction monitoring. With colleagues, Dr. Brack developed a wetland habitat assessment technique using avifauna as indicators of habitat quality, which was published in the journal of "Environmental Management."

Dr. Brack is well published and is a highly respected authority in the scientific community. Click to view Dr. Brack's peer-reviewed PUBLICATIONS

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