Meet Jeramie: A Wildlife Biologist

Feb 2, 2022 By Deepa Gopal
Deepa Gopal's picture

Jeramie Strickland is a Wildlife Biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, which is one of the most visited refuges in the nation. 

Jeramie is passionate about developing more programs and partnering with existing programs to increase diversity in STEM fields through mentoring and professional development opportunities. Jeramie was selected as the 2014 recipient of the prestigious Wildlife Society Diversity Award.

[Editor's Note: We are bringing back this excellent series of articles by Jeramie from a few years ago]

Comments

Jeramie's picture
Jeramie June 9, 2016 - 12:16pm
Great questions!
Jeramie's picture
Jeramie June 9, 2016 - 12:13pm
Thanks for your patience regarding to the excellent questions mentioned above. April until June is the busiest time of the year for me. Peak field season, and the turtles are nesting in May and June. My favorite animals are turtles and dogs. I have been breeding dogs and have run a kennel for almost 12 years now. I have dealt with both small and large breeds. As far as invasive and non-native species..... This is by far one of the most challenging tasks for many biologists and land managers. For instance with plants, we spray with chemicals to kill invasives, and plant native species to out-compete the non-natives. Raccoon are turtle nest predators. In recent years, I have observed them eating 95 percent of known turtle nests. One trick that has worked is to place wire baskets around the nest so that predators can not get to the eggs. Another method is to trap the predators and relocate them. Carp (fish) are a huge problem and have taken over areas within the Great Lakes. Scientists and biologists have trapped and killed them. These fish out-compete native fish for resources. Please keep the questions coming. Pardon my delay in responding but my schedule will be less intense starting July 1.
Deepa Gopal's picture
Deepa Gopal May 26, 2016 - 12:54pm

Dear Youngziners - Jeramie is in the field now and does not have access to the internet. However, please continue asking your questions and he will respond to all of you as soon as he returns.

PIPPINDOG's picture
PIPPINDOG May 25, 2016 - 1:16pm

What is your favorite animal?

Kiwi_BJ's picture
Kiwi_BJ May 12, 2016 - 9:27pm

Thanks for the great articles, Mr Strickland! It's really neat to see where people can take their career in science.
Where I live in New Zealand, we have a lot of lakes. In my particular area, our lake has a considerably large island (Mokoia Island), which is mostly used as a sanctuary to protect native wildlife like the kiwi and kokako (and many others), from pests such as rats and possums that can reduce their population. Of course, since this island is surrounded by a great deal of water, it's fairly easy to keep pests out.
I was wondering, how difficult it is for you in Illinois to make sure that pests and predators stay out of your sanctuaries, refuges etc. What sorts of methods do you have for doing so?

Deepa Gopal's picture
Deepa Gopal May 26, 2016 - 12:55pm

Hi Kiwi_BJ - Great question! We checked with Jeramie and he is out in the field and does not have access to the internet. He will respond as soon as he is back. 

Kiwi_BJ's picture
Kiwi_BJ May 29, 2016 - 9:56pm

Okay, thanks for the note!