Katie Ayers

Katie obtained a Bachelor of Science in Zoology and a minor in Geographic Information Science from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale, which provided her with experience in forest management, wetland conservation, and prairie restoration throughout the Midwest. She participated in the DFP Program in 2020 and started her career with USFWS as a Biological Science Technician in North Dakota, leading pollinator and plant surveys at Minot AFB and Grand Forks AFB. She joined the Panama City FWCO as a Fish and Wildlife Biologist, where she works in the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program overseeing longleaf pine restoration efforts in the Florida Panhandle and Fish and Aquatic Conservation Program surveying watershed threats and fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.

Learn more about fish passage barriers in the Ochlockonee River Basin.