2026 Candidate Arvind Bhuta

Arvind A.R. Bhuta, PhD, GISP, CSE (CV)
District Ranger
United States Forest Service

Candidate for: Member of the Board of Professional Certification (incumbent)

Dr. Arvind A.R. Bhuta (PhD in Natural Resources, Virginia Tech, 2011) is currently the District Ranger for the 576,232-acre Apalachicola National Forest with the USDA Forest Service in Crawfordville, FL. A member of ESA since 2006, Arvind has served on the Governing Board’s Committee (2022-2024), Awards Nomination Committee (2022-2025), Diversity Working Group (2022-2025) and the Board of Professional Certification (2024-2026). He has moderated and served multiple career panel sessions across several academic organizations (e.g., ESA, AAG, and SAF). He has served as committee member on several master’s and dissertation committees, served as a peer-reviewer for several refereed journals, and has published research in dendrochronology, forest ecology, and reforestation. Prior to his current position, Arvind was a Natural Resource Specialist at Forest Service Headquarters, Ecologist for the National Forests in Alabama, and a Forester (Biometrician) Pacific Northwest Regional Office in Portland, OR. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Clemson University’s Forestry and Environmental Conservation Department from 2012–2014. He also holds a BS in Zoology, BS in Environmental Science, and a BA in Geography from Auburn University and an MS in Geography from Virginia Tech.

How Would You Support ESA’s Mission?

By serving on the Board of Professional Certification, I would support the ESA’s mission by advocating for and advancing the profession through the certification of our public, private, and non-profit sector ecologists while also providing them with the support they need to maintain their currency as professional ecologists. This would include working with other colleagues in setting and meeting standards of being a professional ecologist, developing better ways of communicating the work we do as ecologists to non-ecologists, and why we as a profession and as professionals are relevant in the workplace and at worksites at both the project and programmatic levels. Personally, I believe that I do have the knowledge and experience to successfully contribute to the Board and enhance the work we do collectively to support our community and the ESA’s mission, while better representing the work we do when interacting with other professionals in other fields on projects and programs.

News

As snowpack shrinks, Sierra Nevada mountain ponds undergo dramatic change

Study finds winter snowfall shapes summer pond conditions, with implications for biodiversity as California’s climate changes.

Read Article
Media Tip Sheet: Wildlife Ecology at ESA’s 2026 Annual Meeting

At this year’s ESA Annual Meeting, researchers will present new findings on the ecological relationships between wildlife, their habitats and the growing influence of human activities across terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.

Read Article
Disturbance has a greater effect on giant kelp productivity than does resource availability

The amount of kelp that survives winter storms greatly influences the productivity of the giant kelp forest in the next growing season.

Read Article
The “creeping normality” of large language models is quietly reshaping the life sciences

Large language models are transforming research in the life sciences in ways that extend far beyond improving productivity, and are becoming a new normal before scientists have agreed where the limits of their use should be.

Read Article

View All News

Explore ESA's Publishing Program

The Ecological Society of America has over 100 years of journal publishing history and offers some of the most widely read and cited journals in the field of ecology. The seven journals in our portfolio encompass a wide range of paper types to include an array of aims and scope of study, making them an important and accessible outlet for scientists, researchers, practitioners, professionals, citizen scientists, and others seeking to publish their work. ESA staff provide editorial support with our publishing partner, John Wiley & Sons, and several discounts towards publication in ESA journals are available from our publisher and from ESA. Publishing in ESA journals contributes to ESA programs for students, early career researchers, and underrepresented groups, and we thank our editors, reviewers, authors, and readers for their support.

Learn More

2026 Candidate Arvind Bhuta

How Would You Support ESA’s Mission?

Cookie consent and privacy disclaimer