Interview with a USFS wildlife biologist
Interview with a USFS wildlife biologist
Profile of Allison Cochran, a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service in the Bankhead National Forest in Alabama.
© Forestry Works (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
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ALLISON COCHRAN: I'm the district wildlife biologist here. I work for the United States Forest Service on the Bankhead Nationale Forest here in North Alabama. The Bankhead is one of the most diverse forests in Alabama. It's absolutely beautiful. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful place to enjoy and work in every day.
But then the actual job itself is so diverse. Tonight I could be out mist netting, surveying bats and catching bats in hand. And tomorrow, we might be putting a prescribed burn on the ground. And day after tomorrow, we might be assisting a researcher trapping an endangered turtle in the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior.
So every day is something different, just very diverse. And that keeps things interesting. You don't get bogged down with the same day-to-day duties. It's an endless opportunity of things to do every day.
I guess I took maybe an atypical role to get into the field and into the Forest Service. I did not grow up on a farm, or really, as my family was not forest land owners, I kind of grew up in town and didn't really discover my love and interest in wildlife and possibly working for the Forest Service until I enrolled in wildlife at Auburn University.
We have a diverse group of folks working for the forest and several field-going ladies that work with us here. And if you think that you're interested in the outdoors, whether it's in forestry, wildlife, any natural resources field, then take every opportunity you can find to volunteer, to practice, to job shadow.
And have the opportunity to just follow folks around, and sit down and visit with them. And say, hey, what's your job really like, 'cause I think it might be like this? But in fact, it's something totally different. So have the opportunity to volunteer. Get out into the woods, and see if it really is what you think it is and what you might like. And if it is, pursue it with all your might.
I'm Allison Cochran, and I'm proud to be a public servant working for the United States Forest Service in Northwest Alabama.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
ALLISON COCHRAN: I'm the district wildlife biologist here. I work for the United States Forest Service on the Bankhead Nationale Forest here in North Alabama. The Bankhead is one of the most diverse forests in Alabama. It's absolutely beautiful. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful place to enjoy and work in every day.
But then the actual job itself is so diverse. Tonight I could be out mist netting, surveying bats and catching bats in hand. And tomorrow, we might be putting a prescribed burn on the ground. And day after tomorrow, we might be assisting a researcher trapping an endangered turtle in the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior.
So every day is something different, just very diverse. And that keeps things interesting. You don't get bogged down with the same day-to-day duties. It's an endless opportunity of things to do every day.
I guess I took maybe an atypical role to get into the field and into the Forest Service. I did not grow up on a farm, or really, as my family was not forest land owners, I kind of grew up in town and didn't really discover my love and interest in wildlife and possibly working for the Forest Service until I enrolled in wildlife at Auburn University.
We have a diverse group of folks working for the forest and several field-going ladies that work with us here. And if you think that you're interested in the outdoors, whether it's in forestry, wildlife, any natural resources field, then take every opportunity you can find to volunteer, to practice, to job shadow.
And have the opportunity to just follow folks around, and sit down and visit with them. And say, hey, what's your job really like, 'cause I think it might be like this? But in fact, it's something totally different. So have the opportunity to volunteer. Get out into the woods, and see if it really is what you think it is and what you might like. And if it is, pursue it with all your might.
I'm Allison Cochran, and I'm proud to be a public servant working for the United States Forest Service in Northwest Alabama.
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