Bobbie Jo Skibo

Bobbie Jo has dedicated two decades to a natural and cultural resource conservation career in Alaska. She started working for the FWS as of October 2021 and is leading the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Previously she worked with the Alaska Region of the USDA Forest Service for 16 years in numerous capacities including 10 years working as the Interagency Management Coordinator for the Kenai-Russian River Complex which is Alaska's most popular high use recreation area and sockeye salmon fishery. Interagency and interdisciplinary planning has been a main stay of her career. A career highlight is managing human bear conflicts and providing bear safety and bear spray training to hundreds of employees and volunteers. Bobbie Jo has been instrumental convening and leading many complicated and diverse planning projects, partnerships, internship programs, and volunteer efforts. Prior to federal service she worked as the Forest Conservation Program Coordinator for the Alaska Center for the Environment and spent time working on federal legislation and advocacy for many Alaskan environmental issues. Bobbie Jo has an undergraduate degree in Eco-Psychology and a masters degree in Natural Resource Management and Policy. In 2002, she studied integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into western scientific natural resource management models and continues to be committed today to the integration of Indigenous perspectives into federal decision making. Bobbie Jo oversees the Science Communications Coordinator and Indigenous Knowledge Liaisons that are a part of the Science Applications Program.