DSC Personnel

Field Station Manager

Jason Wallace

Jason has been employed at the Desert Studies Center since 2007. As Field Station Manager, he is responsible for overseeing and participating in all aspects of facility operations and guest services. This includes providing visitor orientation about the care and use of the facilities, participating in outreach activities, and offering consultation to visiting researchers, faculty, contractors, and government officials. Jason is also responsible for operating and maintaining the self-contained power and water infrastructure of the center. Before joining the DSC, Jason was a part-time faculty member at California State University, Fullerton and Orange Coast College, teaching classes in biology, zoology and ecology. He was also a zookeeper for seven years, caring for a wide variety of Central and South American animals, most of them primates. Jason earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biology from California State University, Fullerton. His Master’s thesis examined population dynamics of desert reptiles in the East Mojave/Soda Springs area. In 2008, after joining the staff, he resurrected this research to establish a long-term study of our local herpetofauna. This ongoing study is now among the most comprehensive herpetological surveys in the western deserts of North America. Jason’s other research experiences include studies on Mojave fringe-toed lizard, Mojave desert tortoise, Mohave tui chub, green sea turtle, and desert willow. Jason has an extensive understanding of desert organisms and desert ecology and regularly collaborates with federal, state and local agencies such as NPS, BLM, NASA, USFWS, USGS, and CDFW.  In his spare time, he enjoys music, traveling, chasing lizards and spending quality time with his wife and two dogs.