John Pastor is currently Director of Graduate Studies, at the Dept. of Biology and Natural Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota Duluth, and Adjunct Professor, for the Department of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Some of his professional activities include: member on the panel for the National Science Foundation Ecosystems Studies and for the National Academy of Science Committee to Evaluate Indicators for Monitoring Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments. He has testified for both the Voyageurs National Park and Boundary Waters Wilderness (U.S. Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources: July 18, 1996), and on the Effects of Global Climate Change on Minnesota's Ecosystems (State of Minnesota, House Environmental Policy Committee: April 1998).

Dr. Pastor has authored and collaborated on over 100 publications including: Response of northern forests to CO2-induced climatic change (Nature, 1988), Moose browsing and soil fertility in the boreal forests of Isle Royale National Park (Ecology, 1993), and Herbivores, the functional diversity of plants species, and the cycling of nutrients in ecosystems (Theoretical Population Biology, 1997). Dr. Pastor received his B.S., Geology, University of Pennsylvania, M.S., Soil Science, University of Wisconsin, and Ph.D., Forestry and Soil Science, University of Wisconsin.