Dr. Petr Komers founded Management and Solutions in Environmental Science in 2002 and has been a scientific advisor with the company for over 18 years. Petr specializes in the fields of Conservation Biology, Behavioral Ecology and Environmental Impact Assessment and has extensive experience leading research projects, developing environmental standards and refereeing scientific manuscripts.
What initially interested you about the field of ecology, or got you into it?
I love solving the puzzles that nature throws at us. Why does an animal choose to be at any given place? How does this choice change if people are present?
Who inspired you in the field of ecology, or mentored you along the way? How did they shape your path?
While I was a nature lover ever since I can remember, the late Dr. David Boag was instrumental in transforming me into a scientist in grad school. Later Duane Johnson led me to become a consultant and leader. To this day, I think of these two gentlemen when faced with a challenging situation asking myself “What would they have done?”
What is an example of an interesting project that you have worked on? What made it interesting?
Throughout the decades there were many projects of a large variety, but in general I love projects that allow me to develop scientific information that helps in science-based decision making. One such project was our role as science advisors to the Environmental Impact Review Board, North West Territories (NWT), on the decision regarding the permanent road from Inuvik to Tuktoyuktuk. Other super rewarding projects are working with Indigenous communities where we place scientific knowledge side by side with Indigenous knowledge, values, and culture.
What is something rewarding about the work you do at MSES?
Seeing the lightbulb go on in my clients, colleagues, or students when they hear about some of my scientific results or advice.
What should more people know about regarding the ecological issues we face today?
That people truly change the world and that this can be mitigated, that mitigation can be monitored and adapted to mitigate better.
What has been a highlight for you while working at MSES?
My team and my clients!
What is your wildest animal encounter while out in nature?
Two that I must mention, involving a predator and a prey. In the NWT, while observing wood bison in the Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary, my assistant and I were sitting motionlessly under a willow shrub, when suddenly well over one hundred bison came out of the thickets into the open, completely surrounding us. A big bull even started to browse on the very shrub we were sitting under. Some got scent of us, looked up, but could not figure out what we were, so thankfully they went back to their daily routines. The other was in Kenya while I was doing research on dwarf antelopes. While trapping and tagging our research animals in the cover of a moonless Kenyan night, we were startled by this loud roar just behind the bush. As I think of it now, I still feel the vibration of the roar in my lungs. No idea what that lion was doing there and why it left us alone with just a warning. It must have felt generous that night.
What does your optimal weekend in the Rockies look like?
Speeding down the slopes on my beloved skis!
Do you have a favorite species of animal or a special connection to one?
I can be friends with any animal that wants to be friends with me.
What animal is underappreciated and deserves more love?
To me it’s not about a single species, it’s about the systems out there. People do not appreciate the holistic processes operating in nature when they call some reclaimed area with green vegetation “pristine”. Truly pristine processes are those that function as they have prior to human intervention.
What are your favorite things to do outside of work?
Speeding down the slopes on my beloved skis! And scuba diving. And travelling.
What is the most interesting place you have visited and what made it interesting?
I find this impossible to answer. So many interesting places and peoples, for so many reasons! Did I mention that I love travelling?
“The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”