NSSWNY Member Spotlight: Meet Greg Dudley and Jo Johnson

We are a pretty aquatic-themed couple! Greg is a boatbuilder and works at the Buffalo Maritime Center, and Jo is a fish biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Greg is currently leading several boatbuilding projects. Jo is working on a project to identify habitat characteristics used by early life stages of lake sturgeon in the Niagara River. Being on the water is a very important part of our lives, both professionally and personally.

Spending quality time outdoors together is an integral part of our bond. We love to kayak-camp and sail in the boats Greg has built for us, especially along the Maine coastline. The first time we kayaked along the Maine Island Trail, we both felt a little out of our element—navigating tides and rocky shores far different than the those of the Great Lakes. But we were moved by how calm and serene it felt to be alone (with our dog) on small, foggy islands with nothing to do but watch seals and sunsets. One of the coolest hiking experiences we had was on a fairly isolated trail in the Grand Canyon—we only encountered one other person on it—and we got to a vista overlook and watched a California Condor soaring in circles, catching wind drifts, for about twenty minutes. It either didn’t notice us or just didn’t care about our presence.

Jo grew up in a large family, and for vacations they would go on camping trips on a small piece of land that had a creek running through it. She would spend most of the time catching and releasing crayfish. Both of her parents were very avid gardeners, so she would begrudgingly lay out compost and weed flower beds for every mother’s and father’s day. Her professional interest in ecology began in plant physiology, but she found fish biology was her true passion.

Greg’s interest in the natural world was probably most developed by a nearly constant exposure to nature as a child. He grew up on a farm and worked on other farms in his spare time. This led to a relationship with nature that was always present but often taken for granted. He lived in large cities for many years and really rediscovered that bond with nature after moving to Western New York.

We first learned of NSSWNY in 2017 through Robbyn Drake, when Jo and Robbyn worked together. We support the mission because Western New York is home to a lot of really neat habitat types, plants, and animals that require protection. Despite having connections to nature, we grew up in a culture that takes landscapes for granted—viewing them as homogenous backgrounds. It took conscious initiative on our part to unlearn that way of thinking. Participation in a group that protects these habitats while also allowing for visitation is a critical part of fostering public buy-in for conservation.