Wednesday, February 6, 2008

New Job


Down with Assistant positions! No longer am I the Assistant Natural History Biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. I accepted a new job as a Regional Ecologist for the Illinois Natural Area Inventory (INAI) Update. In 1976 Illinois embarked on a task to identify, catalog, and map the remaining natural features present within the state. Since so much of the state's natural communities were heavily destroyed, they recognized the need to undergo this momentous task and as the first state to do this, they set a precedent and the framework for other states to follow. Now over 30 years later, they are updating the INAI by scanning the entire state looking for new natural areas. Some biologists expect that we will find even more than the original inventory although the remaining sites will probably be much smaller. The ecologists that were responsible for the original INAI are nothing less than superstars, and we have huge shoes to fill, a fact that has been emphasized by almost everyone involved in the project. They have hired 5 ecologists and I have region 5, the southernmost 15 counties in Illinois; Perry, Franklin, Hamilton, White, Jackson, Williamson, Saline, Gallatin, Union, Johnson, Pope, Hardin, Alexander, Pulaski, and Massac. I intend to relocate to the Carbondale area within the month. This may be the most diverse region in Illinois and definitely the region with the greatest potential for new natural areas. This is a full time salaried position with benefits that will last for 2 years. I will be in training for the next several weeks and then the work will begin, which will involve scouring topo maps, aerial photographs, and reconnaissance in low-flying aircraft, eventually culminating in a site survey of the biota. We will be supplied with digital cameras so wait for photos of the exciting work!