Serra Hoagland (Laguna Pueblo)

Dr. Serra Hoagland will focus her presentation on IFMAT IV findings as they relate to the protection and stewardship of tribal wildlife resources in addition to her new contributed volume, Wildlife Stewardship on Tribal Lands. New national authorities that promote indigenous ways of knowing for stewarding landscapes are supporting tribal self-determination and shifting the forestry and wildlife paradigm today. Lastly, recognizing the dire state and need for tribal workforce development, Hoagland will also share her journey as a native woman pursuing an education in a predominantly western education system and some recommendations to help recruit the next generation of tribal natural resource professionals.  

Speaker Biography 

Dr. Serra Hoagland (Laguna Pueblo) currently serves as the Acting National Program Lead for Tribal Research. She previously served as the Tribal Relations Specialist for the USDA Rocky Mountain Research Station (RMRS) of the USDA Forest Service. In her work, she focuses on building local, regional and national partnerships with tribes and intertribal organizations, mentoring students in natural resources, and conducting research that is relevant to Native communities. In 2022 she detailed as the National Program Lead for Tribal Research for the USFS and in 2021 with Region 4 as the Regional Tribal Relations Program Manager. Prior to joining the RMRS Serra worked as a Biological Scientist and as the Tribal Relations co-point of contact for the Southern Research Station in Asheville, North Carolina. She began her Forest Service career working on the Lincoln National Forest in 2010 as a SCEP wildlife biologist trainee. As the first Native American to graduate from Northern Arizona University with a PhD in forestry, Serra studied Mexican spotted owl habitat on tribal and non-tribal lands in south-central New Mexico. She has 8 book publications and 16 peer reviewed journal articles and most recently was nominated as a Fellow for The Wildlife Society in 2023. In 2020, Dr. Hoagland was nominated for a professional of the year award and was selected as the most promising scientist by the American Indian Science & Engineering Society. Over the years, she has been actively involved with the Society of American Foresters, the Intertribal Timber Council, the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society as well as The Wildlife Society.