Contact Kent
Office Phone: (802) 649-1431 x201
Biodiversity Database Profiles
A co-founder of VCE, Kent is a conservation biologist, photographer, writer and naturalist with decades of experience across the Americas. Kent’s writing and images have appeared widely in magazines, newspapers, books, and field guides, and for nearly seven years he co-host of Outdoor Radio, a monthly natural history series on Vermont Public Radio. He has co-authored many scientific journal articles, book chapters, and field guides.
Kent was awarded the SciSTARter Boost Award for his work with citizen science from SciStarter.org in 2022, the U.S. Forest Service Wings Across the Americas International Research Partnership Distinction in 2019, the Sally Laughlin Award for the Conservation of Endangered and Threatened Species by the State of Vermont Endangered Species Committee in 2016, and the Partners in Flight Investigation Award in 1999 for his contribution of outstanding research on Bicknell’s Thrush. He was made an Elective Member of the American Ornithologists’ Union in 2007.
He completed his M.S. degree in Conservation Biology at Antioch University New England and his undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at Allegheny College. It was the bright birds of Paraguay, where he was a Peace Corps volunteer working with rural farmers from 1989 to 1992, that first inspired Kent to buy a cheap pair of binoculars and a bird guide. Kent has lived in Vermont for more than 30 years, developing a deep understanding of the land and becoming an advocate for its biodiversity.
Projects
Recent Publications
Spencer P. Hardy, Michael Veit, Joan Milam, John S. Ascher, Nathaniel Sharp, Michael T. Hallworth, Mark Ferguson, Leif Richardson, Charlie Nicholson, Taylor H. Ricketts, Jason Gibbs, Kent P. McFarland “An Annotated Checklist of the Bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of Vermont with Conservation Status and Natural History Notes,” Northeastern Naturalist, 32(mo27), 1-73, (19 November 2025)
Morelli, T.L., Hallworth, M.T., Duclos, T., Ells, A., Faccio, S.D., Foster, J.R., McFarland, K.P., Nislow, K., Ralston, J., Ratnaswamy, M., Deluca, W.V. and Siren, A.P.K. (2025), Does habitat or climate change drive species range shifts?. Ecography, 2025: e07560. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.07560
August T, Balzan M, Bodesheim P, Brehm G, Cantú-Salazar L, Castro S, Chipperfield J, Ghisbain G, Gomez-Segura A, Goulnik J, Groom Q, Hogeweg L, Huijbers C, Kamilaris A, Kazlauskis K, Koch W, Korsch D, Loureiro J, Martin Y, Martinou A, McFarland K, Mestdagh X, Michez D, Outhwaite C, Pegoraro L, Pernat N, Pettersson LB, Pipek P, Preda C, Rolnick D, Roth T, Roy DB, Roy H, Runnel V, Sasic M, Schigel D, Sheard J, Svenningsen C, Teixeira H, Titeux N, Tscheulin T, Tzirkalli E, van der Velde M, van Klink R, Vereecken N, Vray S, Høye TT (2025) Using Image-based AI for insect monitoring and conservation – InsectAI COST Action. Research Ideas and Outcomes 11: e134825. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.10.e134825
Joseph J. Bowden, Avalon Owens, Kayla Brown, Robert W. Harding, Marianne Graversen, Maxim Larrivée, Kent McFarland, Tyler A. Miller, Jamie Warren, and Jodi O. Young. 2025. Moth walls: shedding light on moth biodiversity. FACETS. 10: 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2024-0298
Duali, J., W. V. DeLuca, S. A. Mackenzie, J. A. Tremblay, B. Drolet, S. Haché, A. Roberto-Charron, M. Holguín-Ruiz, R. Boardman, H. A. Cooke, C. C. Rimmer, K. P. McFarland, P. P. Marra, P D. Taylor and D. R. Norris. 2024. Range-wide post- and pre-breeding migratory networks of a declining neotropical–nearctic migratory bird, the blackpoll warbler. Scientific Reports 14, 30229. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-80838-9
Hallworth, M. T., A. P. K. Sirén, W. V. DeLuca, T. R. Duclos, K. P. McFarland, J. M. Hill, C. C. Rimmer, and T. L. Morelli. 2024. Boom and bust: the effects of masting on seed predator range dynamics and trophic cascades. Diversity and Distributions 30:8 e13861.
Jain, A., F. Cunha, M. J. Bunsen, J. S. Cañas, L. Pasi, N. Pinoy, F. Helsing, J. Russo, M. Botham, M. Sabourin, J. Fréchette, A. Anctil, Y. Lopez, E. Navarro, F. Perez Pimentel, A. C. Zamora, J. Ramirez Silva, J. Gagnon, T. August, K. Bjerge, A. Gomez Segura, M. Bélisle, Y. Basset, K. P. McFarland, D. Roy, T. Høye, M. Larrivée, D. Rolnick. 2024. Insect Identification in the Wild: The AMI Dataset. arXiv:2406.12452. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2406.12452
Roy D. B., Alison J., August T. A., Bélisle M., Bjerge K., Bowden J. J., Bunsen M. J., Cunha F., Geissmann Q.,Goldmann K., Gomez-Segura A., Jain A., Huijbers C., Larrivée M., Lawson J. L., Mann H. M., Mazerolle M. J., McFarland K. P., Pasi L., Peters S., Pinoy N., Rolnick D., Skinner G. L., Strickson O. T., Svenning A., Teagle S. and Høye T. T. 2024. Towards a standardized framework for AI-assisted, image-based monitoring of nocturnal insects. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 37920230108 http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0108
