Stephanie Koch

Natural Resources Science
vita

Stephanie grew up in Massachusetts in a suburb just outside Boston and was fortunate in having parents who exposed her to the New England coast at a very early age.  Her fondest childhood memories are boating, fishing, digging for clams and camping on coastal islands with her family.  These experiences coalesced and Stephanie knew at a young age that she wanted to work in a coastal biological field. 

She received a Bachelor's Degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1996. While an undergraduate, Stephanie worked for the National Park Service, Canadian Wildlife Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The diverse positions she held with these three agencies exposed her to varied experiences ranging from visitor outreach and interpretation at a National Park to an isolated research camp living in the tundra.

Upon graduation, Stephanie began working full time for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and has worked on National Wildlife Refuges in Massachusetts and Maine for the past 10 years. Her main interests include coastal waterbird management, restoration, and research, as well as freshwater wetland management and monitoring.  She especially enjoys working on management issues in suburban environments, balancing conservation with public use.  As an IGERT trainee, she is focusing on the convergence of human activities and resource management. Working with Dr. Peter Paton as her major professor, she is completing her doctoral studies on shorebird conservation and management and the impact of increasing public use on beaches on Cape Cod. 

When Stephanie is not exploring the coast, you will find her climbing, hiking, canoeing, traveling or walking her dog. If you'd like more information or want to chat about CIIP or the University of Rhode Island, feel free to email her at stephlkoch@gmail.com.