Dvorak, Robert

Biography

Dr. Bob Dvorak is a Professor in the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services Administration at Central Michigan University. Bob’s professional teaching and research interests include wilderness and protected area management, examining visitor use issues in parks and wilderness, and understanding the relationships and attachments people form with wilderness and protected areas.

He received his PhD in Forestry from the University of Montana in 2007 where his research focused on visitor use trends in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. This culminated in the USDA Forest Service station publication The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness: Examining changes in use, users, and management challenges. Res. Pap. RMRS-RP-91. (Dvorak et al, 2012) that received the National Wilderness Award for Excellence in Wilderness Stewardship Research.

His most recent research collaboration has been with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, investigating visitor use management and carrying capacity related to polar-viewing and tourism on Barter Island. He has also been a scientific reviewer for the Interagency Visitor Use Management Framework, Visitor Capacity Guidebook, and Monitoring Guidebook. He has been a mentor in Wilderness Stewardship Certificate Program since 2014 and a Board Member of the Society for Wilderness Stewardship from 2011 to 2017. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Wilderness.