Jennifer Jones
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Jennifer Jones has worked as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Yreka field office since 2005. Jennifer is leading the effort to develop a Connecting People with Nature program at the Yreka FWO to engage the people and communities of Siskiyou County in nature-related activities. Her other job responsibilities include working with private landowners on timber harvest and habitat conservation plans for northern spotted owls, and conducting surveys for the Siskiyou Mountains and Scott Bar salamanders for a species-habitat modeling study. Before her position at the Yreka FWO, Jennifer was a research biologist at the USDA Pacific Southwest Research Station, Redwood Sciences Laboratory, where she conducted studies on tree voles, bats, reptiles, and amphibians.
Jennifer earned her Masters Degree in Natural Resources and Wildlife from Humboldt State University and an undergraduate degree in biology and environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. For her senior project through UCSC, she was the environmental education coordinator and naturalist for the UC Angelo Coast Range Reserve in northwestern California.
Working with youth in nature has been a passion and focus for Jennifer for well over a decade. As a camp counselor and program director for a summer camp in the remote Trinity Alps Wilderness, she led 3-day to 3-week backpacking trips and taught outdoor survival and social skills, natural history, and conservation. She also taught natural history and science to 1st-8th graders throughout California while working as a group leader and naturalist for an outdoor education organization. Jennifer developed the curriculum for a Wilderness Exploration afterschool program and worked with students using environmental education and team-building activities to teach ecological concepts. As a U.S. Fish and Wildlife employee, she teaches about forest and watershed ecosystems at a local environmental science school.
Jennifer is committed to creating opportunities for people to become involved with the natural world, encouraging a personal stake in the care of our natural resources.