Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, Washington DC, 2012. Kaestlin collection of Imperial Russian and Zemstvo stamps. Environmental Protection Agency, United States, 1978. Bat management in the United States : a survey of legislative actions, court decisions and agency interpretations.He has been a vice-president of the National Speleological Society. In 2006 he was appointed chairman of the Virginia Cave Board by governor Mark Warner. The Virginia Cave Protection Act was first ratified in 1966, with a major revision in 1979, yet Virginia cave and karst resources are still threatened by. Lera is an expert on the conservation and preservation of bats and caves about which he has written management plans for the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. He was inducted into the American Philatelic Society's writers hall of fame in 2015 and in 2016 received the Distinguished Philatelic Texan Award. Lera was elected to membership of the Royal Philatelic Society London in 2009 and became a fellow in 2012.

In 2012, Lera and Leon Finik produced a book on the Georges Henri Kaestlin collection of Russian Imperial and Zemstvo stamps held by the National Postal Museum which was published by the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press in their Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge series. Lera's research interests include the Underground Railroad Post Office and Confederate official and semi-official envelopes. During his appointment he created the NPM Philatelic Forensic Laboratory through the purchase of specialised scientific equipment for the examination of paper, ink and color. Blount Research Chair at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in 2008. Lera received his advanced education at the University of Illinois from where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1969 and the University of Pennsylvania from where he received a Master of Science degree in 1971. He is also an expert on the preservation and the conservation of bats and caves and has been a vice-president of the National Speleological Society. Blount Research Chair at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum until 2021. Lera is an American philatelist who was the Winton M.

Cave Post Offices by Thomas M. Lera