After completing his PhD in biogeography, Garry Rogers served on the Geography faculty of Columbia University in New York until 1987. At Columbia, he published two books and a series of articles on fire ecology and vegetation dynamics. From Columbia, he moved into a research position with the U. S. Forest Service and then to the U. S. Justice Department. In 2007, he began spending time with the regional weed management association and focusing on nature conservation issues.