February 14, 2018 at 12:11 pm
By Regional Wildlife Biologist, Sarah Boyden
Quite often, I get asked how I became a wildlife biologist. As a kid, on a dairy farm in central Maine, I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I liked to be outside and I wanted to do something with animals but, beyond that, I had no plans. I found my way to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) because of terrific coworkers and mentors, saying yes to every opportunity that came along, and a good amount of persistence.
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Collared Canada lynx, captured during MDIFW lynx research project, in Clayton Lake.[/caption]
I took a couple years off before college and spent my time building hiking trails, ski patrolling, making snow and crewing a schooner. A lot of that time I spent living out of a tent in places like the Bigelow Preserve, the Cutler Coast Trail, Acadia and Yosemite National Parks. After a few years of rambling, I enrolled in college, graduating from University of Maine at Farmington with a degree in Biology. With my degree in-hand, I sent out cover letters to any job or volunteer position that looked interesting and received an offer from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources for a desert fish technician position in Moab, Utah. I had never rowed a raft, or worked with fish but I learned what I needed to on the job. Next, I accepted a volunteer position with the Maine lynx research project and moved from Moab to Clayton Lake, Maine. Like my job in Utah, I knew nothing about lynx or telemetry but I learned everything I needed to know from the biologists at IF&W. I spent several seasons as a contract employee helping capture, collar and track lynx. In between seasons on the lynx project, I worked for the Forest Service planting trees and surveying stream habitat in Atlantic salmon watersheds.
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Bat research has been a large part of my work life. With the spread of White Nose Syndrome, we've seen bat populations rapidly decline throughout the east.[/caption]
Like most recent wildlife graduates, I monitored Texas A&M for job opportunities. My contract work with the lynx project was only a few months at a time, so I was always looking for my next job, stringing together a series of temporary positions into full-time work. At the end of a winter trapping season I accepted a seasonal technician position with a small company in southern Maine, conducting nocturnal wildlife surveys for a project in Vermont. What started as a two-month contract turned into nine years of traveling throughout North America, conducting fish and wildlife surveys on a wide variety of projects on species ranging from lynx to bats. With every new work assignment, I continued to learn about a variety of wildlife and techniques, broadening my skill set with each new experience.
Even though my wildlife work was steady and often exciting, I always knew that I wanted to work for MDIFW. Job openings with MDIFW are rare, but I developed the habit of checking the state jobs board for new opportunities. My first interview for a regional wildlife position was in 2009, but I wasn’t the most qualified candidate and didn’t get the job. I was disappointed, but received encouraging feedback from the interview committee and kept working, gaining experience, and saying yes to any wildlife work that came along. I sought out opportunities to volunteer, or give presentations, or participate in professional organizations.
[caption id="attachment_2715" align="alignleft" width="300"]
I have worked with a variety of wildlife species throughout North America[/caption]
Along the way, I accepted a position as a biologist with the Department of Transportation and spent three years permitting bridge projects. My work involved reducing the impact transportation projects had on many of the state and federally listed fish and wildlife species in Maine.
Over nine years and many MDIFW interviews later, I finally gained enough of the right combination of wildlife biology experience and was offered a position as the assistant regional wildlife biologist in Strong. I’m very grateful to have found my way to Region D and am looking forward to my time as an MDIFW wildlife biologist.
Collared Canada lynx, captured during MDIFW lynx research project, in Clayton Lake.[/caption]
I took a couple years off before college and spent my time building hiking trails, ski patrolling, making snow and crewing a schooner. A lot of that time I spent living out of a tent in places like the Bigelow Preserve, the Cutler Coast Trail, Acadia and Yosemite National Parks. After a few years of rambling, I enrolled in college, graduating from University of Maine at Farmington with a degree in Biology. With my degree in-hand, I sent out cover letters to any job or volunteer position that looked interesting and received an offer from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources for a desert fish technician position in Moab, Utah. I had never rowed a raft, or worked with fish but I learned what I needed to on the job. Next, I accepted a volunteer position with the Maine lynx research project and moved from Moab to Clayton Lake, Maine. Like my job in Utah, I knew nothing about lynx or telemetry but I learned everything I needed to know from the biologists at IF&W. I spent several seasons as a contract employee helping capture, collar and track lynx. In between seasons on the lynx project, I worked for the Forest Service planting trees and surveying stream habitat in Atlantic salmon watersheds.
[caption id="attachment_2714" align="alignright" width="300"] Bat research has been a large part of my work life. With the spread of White Nose Syndrome, we've seen bat populations rapidly decline throughout the east.[/caption]
Like most recent wildlife graduates, I monitored Texas A&M for job opportunities. My contract work with the lynx project was only a few months at a time, so I was always looking for my next job, stringing together a series of temporary positions into full-time work. At the end of a winter trapping season I accepted a seasonal technician position with a small company in southern Maine, conducting nocturnal wildlife surveys for a project in Vermont. What started as a two-month contract turned into nine years of traveling throughout North America, conducting fish and wildlife surveys on a wide variety of projects on species ranging from lynx to bats. With every new work assignment, I continued to learn about a variety of wildlife and techniques, broadening my skill set with each new experience.
Even though my wildlife work was steady and often exciting, I always knew that I wanted to work for MDIFW. Job openings with MDIFW are rare, but I developed the habit of checking the state jobs board for new opportunities. My first interview for a regional wildlife position was in 2009, but I wasn’t the most qualified candidate and didn’t get the job. I was disappointed, but received encouraging feedback from the interview committee and kept working, gaining experience, and saying yes to any wildlife work that came along. I sought out opportunities to volunteer, or give presentations, or participate in professional organizations.
[caption id="attachment_2715" align="alignleft" width="300"] I have worked with a variety of wildlife species throughout North America[/caption]
Along the way, I accepted a position as a biologist with the Department of Transportation and spent three years permitting bridge projects. My work involved reducing the impact transportation projects had on many of the state and federally listed fish and wildlife species in Maine.
Over nine years and many MDIFW interviews later, I finally gained enough of the right combination of wildlife biology experience and was offered a position as the assistant regional wildlife biologist in Strong. I’m very grateful to have found my way to Region D and am looking forward to my time as an MDIFW wildlife biologist.Categories