Emily Weidner
ORTWS Board Member (2024 – 2026)
Current Position: Fish & Wildlife Biologist –U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Biographical Sketch: Hello ORTWS folks! I’m 7 years deep in my career with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in the Bend Field Office. School wasn’t on my radar until my early 30s, so I started small at a local community college and completed my Bachelor of Science at Oregon State University. I started with FWS in 2017 while finishing my master’s degree at the University of Montana.
Prior to my self-titled “adulting” job, I worked as a technician for the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, interned for ODFW at the Alsea Fish Hatchery, interned at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, and volunteered for Alaska Department of Fish and Game at their Moose Research Center. My work portfolio is quite broad. I am the wolf, sage-grouse, and eagle lead for our field office, and the bat and Sierra Nevada red fox lead for FWS’s Oregon Fish and Fish and Wildlife Office. The breadth makes my job incredibly engaging and I’m fortunate to have amazing colleagues and work relationships. In my opinion, relationships are the foundation from which all wildlife and habitat conservation efforts are built. Good things happen when you put time into building relationships. I’m looking forward to serving as an ORTWS board member, building new relationships, sharing my experiences to hopefully help folks, and learning along the way.
As evidenced by my photo, my camera equipment comes everywhere with me. If you’re into wildlife photography, pack mule that equipment with you, it’s worth it!