Mark’s Background and Education
Mark was born and raised on a large dryland wheat and cattle farm in Eastern Oregon. He spent many years driving tractor, combine, and delivering calves in the middle of winter. In 1982, he married Deborah, and they lived on the family ranch until the mid-1980s when the farm crisis required them to alter their life course.
They moved to Corvallis, Oregon, where Mark earned his bachelor’s degree in Crop Science. After graduation, they moved to the Palouse and lived in Garfield, Washington. For several years, Mark worked as an agricultural research technician for WSU, and then returned to school full time to earn his Master’s degree in Natural Resource Science. His research focused on revegetation strategies for the Midnite Mine, an abandoned uranium mine in Stevens County, Washington. During their time on the Palouse, Deborah earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Sociology from WSU. The picture below is of the Midnite Mine.
Mark earned his PhD from The Ohio State University in 2010 in Environmental Science. He conducted his research at The Wilds, which is a 10,000 acre conservation center in southeast Ohio. The entire site was originally a surface coal mine. Eventually, the mine spoil was recontoured and seeded to a low-diversity cover. Mark’s research at The Wilds examined the suitability of native grass species to increase diversity and resilience. The first picture below is of Mark’s research plots at The Wilds. The second photo is of some of the great views while Mark was doing his research! Click here to check out a brief history of The Wilds.
The Thornes returned to the Palouse in 2015. Mark is employed as a research scientist at WSU in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. The majority of his research focuses on weed management and biology in agricultural crops. The first picture below is a new seeding of winter wheat at the Palouse Conservation Field Station in Pullman. The second picture is Mark surrounded by a crop of canola growing at the Cook Agronomy Farm.
Mark has also served on the Board of Directors of the Moscow Food Co-Op for approximately four years. He is currently president of the board. Below is a recent picture of Mark and Melinda Schab, General Manager of the Co-Op, at a board meeting.
The Thorne Family
Mark and Deborah have been married for a little over 40 years.
(Most of the years have been blissful.)
Rather than human children, Mark and Deborah have critter kids. They have two horses, Hobo and Rowdy.
There is Penny, their adopted red and white border collie.
There is Camry, who adopted them two decades ago.
And finally, there is Bootsie, the barn cat. He has appointed himself Mark’s official running mate.
