An active outdoorsman, Gary has accrued over 40 years as a wildlife biologist in Wisconsin, initially at the Milwaukee Public Museum. He received his Ph.D. from UW-Milwaukee, where he continues as an associate scientist at the UWM Field Station in Saukville. Gary also owns Great Lakes Ecological Services, LLC, conducting wildlife research throughout the western Great Lakes Region. He has written over 100 publications and several books, and is an associate editor for the Natural Areas Journal and Herpetological Conservation and Biology.