Mary O’Brien

Mary O’Brien is a botanist, author, and environmental advocate. She has worked as a staff scientist within toxics reform, environmental law, and public lands conservation organizations for over 30 years. She was Utah Forests Program Director for the Grand Canyon Trust 16 years, and has also worked with other conservation organizations to encourage the U.S. Forest Service to conserve wildlife habitat and native ecosystems on southern Utah’s three national forests. Mary’s work has always focused on developing and proposing alternatives to be considered by public agency and public lands decision makers. Her book, Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative to Risk Assessment, provides numerous examples of the power of alternative proposals and assessments to leverage positive change.