Emily Snelson Email & Phone Number

Portage, Wisconsin, United States

Deliver program objectives of the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program by providing technical and financial assistance to private landowners, local governments, and non-profit organizations interested in habitat restoration on their lands, contributing to over 300 acres of restored land and waters per year. As a project lead and as a collaborator on colleagues’ projects, participate in all aspects of project planning and implementation by conducting initial site visits, identifying partner organizations, managing budgets and grants, preparing agreement documents, obtaining necessary permits, monitoring work on-site, and completing all reporting requirements. For each project, apply knowledge of best practices for conservation of Midwestern ecosystems, through conducting endangered resource reviews, utilizing geospatial technologies, preparing local ecotype native seed mixes, and helping landowners prepare for long-term management. Collaborate with numerous partners, to align conservation priorities, find funding sources, and share success stories to the public through news articles, in-person outreach events, and social media content creation. Additional tasks include operating heavy and hand equipment to manage native habitat, participating in cross-programatic collaborative efforts including prescribed fire operations and rare species surveys, and training and directing other staff, interns, and volunteers to accomplish priority tasks, including equipment operation, native seed collecting, project documentation and database reporting.

Dodgeville, Wisconsin, United States

As a CWD Biologist, lead chronic wasting disease sample collection efforts throughout a six county region in southern Wisconsin, partnering with local businesses, DNR staff, and conservation groups to provide efficient service to hunters and obtain critical data on CWD transmission, collecting over 1500 head and lymph node samples per year in the region. As a Wildlife Technician, collaborated with colleagues and teammates to restore and maintain habitat on publicly accessible wildlife lands. Completed habitat management objectives through herbicide applications, native seed plantings, prescribed burn unit break maintenance, and undesirable woody plant removal using forestry mowers, skid steer loaders, tractor mowers, chainsaws and brush cutters, with reporting of treatments in GIS databases. In addition, participated in all aspects of prescribed fire management, including maintaining burn unit breaks, rehabilitating equipment, and serving as a FFT2 crew member on grassland and forest burns ranging up to 300 acres in size. Additional tasks included providing exceptional service to customers through a statewide wildlife call center program, Assisting in banding operations for waterfowl and doves, and preparing wildlife management projects for implementation by conducting endangered resource reviews and creating useful project area maps using internal databases and aerial photography.

Winona, Minnesota, United States

Work alongside refuge biologists, managers, and maintenance staff to execute priority tasks to improve habitat and enhance recreational opportunities on the Winona District of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, Minnesota. Primary duties include conducting extensive forest inventories of refuge lands, biological monitoring surveys including heron and black tern nesting locations, invasive plant removal from floodplain forests using both chemical and mechanical methods, and assisting with upkeep of refuge boat landings and boundaries through improving sign postings and lawn maintenance. Projects are frequently completed using the use of motorized and non-motorized watercraft, ATVs/UTVs, and power tools, with appropriate certifications obtained to operate the aforementioned machines. Additional tasks include collaborating with volunteers and partner agencies to organize and execute events including tree planting, waterfowl banding, and trash cleanups, and utilizing GPS and GIS software to record and analyze data.

Munising, Michigan, United States

In collaboration with other biological science technicians and biologists, completed and supported terrestrial biology priority projects throughout the West Zone of the Hiawatha National Forest, Michigan. Primary duties included conducting wildlife surveys of regionally sensitive bat, raptor, and warbler species and assisting with habitat improvement projects such as wildlife opening maintenance, stream bank restoration, and native plant revegetation. Used hand tools, brush saws, and other power equipment to complete projects, and utilized GPS and GIS for data collection, analysis, and presentation. Additional projects included creating a fact sheet booklet for Regional Forester Sensitive Species and excelling in GIS implementation to create a Forest-wide wildlife survey form for all employees using Survey123 and ArcCollector. Other duties consisted of working with other resource areas to complete management tasks such as electrofishing, trail clearing, road closures, and timber marking to promote interdisciplinary knowledge sharing and gain valuable experience in other sectors of the Forest Service.

Madison, Wisconsin Area

Assisted principal investigators on studies investigating the ecology of invasive Asian “jumping earthworm” species. Primary field work roles included performing surveys of vegetation, soil properties and earthworm abundances in over 100 plots to assess effects of invasive earthworms on southern Wisconsin forest. Main laboratory work involved helping to develop, prepare, and execute experiments determining the effectiveness of various soil amendments as earthworm control methods. Notable accomplishments include receiving a prestigious undergraduate fellowship to conduct an independent research project on earthworm habitat preferences with the intent to publish and present the results.

Baraboo, Wisconsin

Worked alongside Conservancy staff on preserve management, field work, and outreach on 12,000 acres of unique and ecologically valuable upland forests and prairies in southern Wisconsin. Primary management activities included operating equipment such as chainsaws, brush cutters, hand tools, and sprayers on public preserves to promote oak regeneration and hardwood forest management. Work was often conducted under infrequent supervision or as a team in remote areas under variable weather conditions. Notable experiences include participating in an 800+ acre growing season prescribed burn, working with an Americorps NCCC team to construct and improve trails, and assisting with vegetation and forest regeneration metrics surveys.

Madison, Wisconsin Area

As part of Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign, collaborated with a team of approximately 40 dedicated volunteers to organize events and actions to garner public support to push utility companies to invest in 100 percent renewable energy. Additional tasks included designing digital and print promotional content for the Campaign, including emails, flyers, postcards and buttons. Notable accomplishments include facilitating a public social event focused on clean energy with over 50 community members in attendance.

Madison, Wisconsin Area

Assisted a graduate student on a study of functional traits while simultaneously conducting an independent research project. Primary duty involved collecting population growth data of various pea aphid clonal lines through daily counts in a controlled lab setting to evaluate the influence of bacterial symbionts on aphid populations. Additional independent research project tasks included running statistical tests, creating informative and visually appealing graphs, and culminating the results of the study into a research paper and poster.

Madison, Wisconsin Area

Assisted in collecting field data for a multi-year project investigating how canids use the urban landscape and how their behaviors and life histories change as a result. Principal responsibility was to track the locations of red foxes and coyotes daily using VHF radio telemetry to study their movement in urban settings. Additional duties included sampling residential areas for ticks to assess disease risk for urban canids, as well as leading presentations and demonstrations to groups about the Project as part of introducing the public to citizen science.