Stephanie Bishir

Stephanie joined Illinois River National Wildlife & Fish Refuge Complex in February of 2021. Prior to coming to Illinois, she has worked with a number of Refuges in the Midwest, including Big Stone NWR, St. Croix WMD, and Big Oaks NWR. Stephanie holds an M.S. degree from Southeast Missouri State University, where her studies focused on wood frog movements and habitat use. She continues to have a keen interest in amphibian conservation, and is working to improve amphibian habitat and increase Illinois chorus frog presence on the refuge. She also works on a variety of other projects and surveys throughout the year, including invasive plant species control, waterfowl and shorebird migration counts, and frog population surveys. She is interested in taking on and teaching volunteers and student interns to help out with these projects. You can contact her for more information on how to get involved with refuge activities. When she is not in the field for work, she enjoys being in the field-hiking, backpacking, and photographing nature.