Jessica W. Parrish, USFWS DFP

Blog post #2

5 August 2021

As I have progressed in this fellowship, I have learned much about the endangered species monitoring process, as well as many other details of Service employment. I have been impressed with the dedication of my riparian brush rabbit (RBR) team- my three supervisors at the San Luis NWR Complex- to help recover and track the species. The director is very busy but he still finds time to meet with me nearly every day and provide enthusiastic input for my project. I have enjoyed, although tedious, performing data analyses and creating graphs and tables to compare the RBR's data to other North American lagomorphs. I am happy to report that the species is making a remarkable recovery thanks to the Service and its partners. These entities have closely monitored the RBR’s abundance, restored thousands of acres of riparian habitat on the San Joaquin River NWR, and even employed intensive captive-propagation to help revive this species.

It moves me deeply to see other people as passionate about endangered species as I am. Growing up in the Eastern U.S. (Kentucky) has made it difficult to connect with people who share a similar respect for the environment and conservation. I have often felt alone in my passion and hopeless for future generations. I am thrilled to say that I have met some of the most passionate people in this experience, including FWS regional directors and other higher ups, who truly want to save species and preserve biodiversity. I feel honored to be a small piece of the puzzle in the endangered RBR’s recovery- what a validating experience this has been, so far!

Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Program: US Fish & Wildlife Service - DFP

Location: Alaska Office of Law Enforcement