Marshall Topham
I received my Bachelor of Science degree from Southern Utah University with a major in Zoology and minors in Botany and Chemistry. I was recruited by the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, where I earned my Master of Entomology. Later I earned a second master’s degree in education administration from Utah State University.
My love for the desert and teaching brought me back to Southern Utah, where I completed my career with the Washington County School District. I served as teacher, head wrestling and volleyball coach, principal and associate superintendent over secondary schools.
Retired now, I am currently an adjunct professor teaching Environmental Science at Utah Tech University. I served as the lead biologist on the Technical Advisory Committee in the creation and implementation of the Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan and the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. I have served on that committee for nearly 20 years. A few years ago, I resigned from attending meetings to hike the trails of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve as a Trail Steward.
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There are 924 bird species known to be in the United States. The average county in Utah has approximately 295 species, but Washington County boasts 400 species. -
A symbiotic relationship is best defined as two organisms living together where one or both benefit from the relationship and neither is harmed -
Every time I visit the ranch, I’m reminded of how few places there are in the state of Utah where one could go and experience such tremendous biodiversity. -
Washington County boasts four species of rattlesnakes, more than any other county in the state. -
It’s always a good day when you see a Gila Monster in the wild. Monster sightings are not common in the Southwest corner of Utah even though they are quite abundant in this portion of the Mojave Desert. -
For 44 years I have spent considerable time in the company of the desert creatures that reside outside my home in St. George Utah.
