Jason Ross

Jason is a Fish and Wildlife Biologist staff member in the Alabama Ecological Services Field Office (ALFO) since 2019 – sited at Noxubee/Sam D. Hamilton National Wildlife Refuge (NNWR), located near Brooksville, MS. Responsibilities are Section 7 Section 7
Section 7 Consultation The Endangered Species Act (ESA) directs all Federal agencies to work to conserve endangered and threatened species and to use their authorities to further the purposes of the Act. Section 7 of the Act, called "Interagency Cooperation," is the mechanism by which Federal agencies ensure the actions they take, including those they fund or authorize, do not jeopardize the existence of any listed species.

Learn more about Section 7 consultations, primarily those involving coal-mining and forestry, and recovery biologist and species lead for the Red Hills salamander, state lead for the Mitchell’s satyr butterfly*. Due to proximity, he assists Refuge staff with annual wildlife survey and prescribed burning programs. 

*Disclaimer: by education and training, he is not an amphibian or insect nerd but a converted deer/turkey biologist from a forestry background with a sprinkling of both mining and wildlife law enforcement experience.

OTHER POSITIONS:

• 2016-2019 – Planning Environmental Specialist, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Southeastern States District Office, Flowood, MS 
• 2003-2016 – Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Tenn-Tom Waterway Project Office, Columbus, MS 
• 1999-2003 – Wildlife Captain (District 2), Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MDWFP), Batesville, MS 
• 1998-1999 – Wildlife Biologist, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC), Deland, FL 
• 1996-1998 – Mississippi State University Cooperative Extension Program Assistant, Wildlife and Fisheries Department, Mississippi State University, MS

EDUCATION and CERTIFICATIONS:

• 1996 - M.S. Wildlife Ecology, Mississippi State University, MS 
• 1993 - B.S. Forestry (Wildlife Option), Mississippi State University, MS 
• Wildland Firefighter Type 2 (FFT2)