Cassie Wolfanger

Cassie Wolfanger

Conservation Research Fellow
About

Audubon Vermont and the Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute are excited to welcome Cassie (she/her) as our Conservation Research Fellow. This new, two-year fellowship will focus on improving watershed resiliency across the Lake Champlain watershed, connecting Audubon’s work to protect birds and the places birds need to thrive with UVM Extension’s support for sustainable farming and forestry as keys to watershed health. 

Originally from western New York, Cassie Wolfanger spent her childhood exploring the great outdoors and refusing to come inside. She holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Environmental Science and Ecology from SUNY Brockport, where her research focused on land use and restoration influences on coastal wetland biogeochemistry.

Previously, Cassie worked for the Vermont Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit on juvenile lake sturgeon and then for the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. She’s most passionate about the protection of rare, threatened, and endangered species, and keeping natural places wild for their survival. With a firm belief that a connection to nature must be accessible to all, she values engaging historically underserved communities in the conversation around environmental action and policy. Cassie’s goal is to find the best ways we can be stewards of the land, even in human-dominated landscapes, in order to coexist with wildlife, so this fellowship opportunity is very exciting! Currently, Cassie lives in Richmond where her free time is spent hiking with her dog, kayaking, playing women’s rugby, or Nordic skiing.

Articles by Cassie Wolfanger

Jersey dairy cows graze in a grass field
Grazing Part 2: Considerations for managing bird-friendly pastures
April 03, 2024 — The second article of a two-part series on grassland birds and bird-friendly pasture management. In this article are some pasture management guidelines that may be considered more bird-friendly. See the first article on grassland bird declines and the role Vermont grazing farmers can play in their survival.
VT
Jersey dairy cows up close gather and come to greet the photographer in a grass field
Grazing Part 1: How this farming technique may benefit declining grassland birds
March 20, 2024 — The first article of a two-part series on grassland birds and bird-friendly pasture management. Here we’ll explore the unlikely pairing of birds and cows, bird declines, and habitat needs. In part two, we’ll discuss some bird-friendly pasture management guidelines that can be considered.
VT