USFWS Judy Neibauer, -ScienceWoman (16767616891)

March is Women’s History month, and we want to highlight some of the amazing women here at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on our social media sites.
Name: Judy Neibauer
Title: Fish and Wildlife Biologist
Duty station: Central Washington Field Office, Wenatchee, WA
Female Conservation Hero or Mentor: Mardy Murie, First women to graduate from University of Alaska, Fairbanks in 1924. She worked very hard educating herself, raising a family, and sharing her knowledge to cause change for the betterment of conservation.
Where did you go to school: Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA
What did you study? Marine Biology
How did you get interested in conservation? I grew up in a family of outdoors people, fishing and camping, and I enjoyed learning about fish, streams, lakes, oceans, and ecosystems. I knew that I wanted to work at something I would enjoy for 25 years or more. I learned in college and my early years of work with the US Forest Service, that connecting and conserving salmonid habitat equals functioning watersheds for humans, and that goal is my path in conservation.

What’s your favorite species and why? This is hard. I love invertebrates because they develop physical adaptations to live in most every place on the earth. But my favorite species is the one I work with day in and day out, the native char, bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). It is an apex predator and an indicator of watershed health.