The past few weeks I’ve ramped up working on infographics, social media posts, and web stories about Mexican wolves to be used in the rollout of the proposed rule revision, including loading web stories into the new platform in preparation for the service-wide website update. Being able to go through the content manager training for the Drupal website platform will be a great asset as I look for future careers in USFWS External Affairs; something I’m more motivated to do than ever after this DFP experience.
Next week, which will be the last of my DFP, I’m putting on a virtual field photography training for the Interagency Wolf Team. These are the biologists and managers who do hands-on work with Mexican wolves in captive and wild settings. As a wildlife photographer and a field biologist, I am really looking forward to interfacing with this dedicated team and sharing my experience and knowledge about photography. It’s a skill, it’s an art, and a great science tool; but it can also be incredibly difficult to capture useful images in the field when you are busy doing the wildlife work. We’ll be talking about these challenges, how to master basic camera functions and techniques so you can use the camera instinctively in the field, and how to use camera phones most effectively—you don’t need the biggest, fanciest camera to get a great shot, although it can help!
As my time comes to an end with External Affairs and the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program, my strongest thought is that I wish I had more time to work with these teams. I’m grateful beyond words that I ended up in this project; working with External Affairs has opened my eyes to the many opportunities within this program that I could pursue. It has also helped me gain a more in-depth understanding of how the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is applied to recovering species like the Mexican wolf, and how the Ecological Services program works with External Affairs to move rule revisions through the pipeline to publication in the Federal Register. It takes an impressive amount of teamwork, research, revision, and dedication to complete this process.
Thank you, Hispanic Access Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Legacy Region 2 External Affairs, and the Mexican Wolf Recovery Program. It’s been a beneficial and challenging experience, and I hope to put it to good use in my future career.
Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service - DFP
Location: Southwest Regional Office