He has volunteered many hours with the Cornell Ornithology Lab to install bird feeders and housings and monitor nests, and with the Peregrine Fund’s American Kestrel Project, a long-term nation-wide citizen science research initiative to uncover the causes of the alarming decline of kestrels across the country. In addition, Mike volunteers at the Northern Virginia Raptor Conservancy, helping to care and rehabilitate injured birds of prey rescued in the area. Mike is a participating Angler in the New York Angler Diary Cooperation Program, where he conducts annual species log reports on freshwater lakes and streams in the North East, and teaches workshops on fishing techniques to children and adults at the Buddie Ford Nature Center in Alexandria, Virginia. As a military veteran who served in Afghanistan, Mike understands the stress and anxiety experienced by returning soldiers; thus, he recently initiated Soldiers2Scientists, a citizen science project for returning soldiers to decompress in the American Great Outdoors, while conducting meaningful work that serves to protect and preserve our country’s resources.