Helping Wildlife

I started working for Virginia State Parks in 1986 and in a long career have had the chance to get up close with wildlife and working on enhancing it.  I can't even begin to count how many blue bird boxes, wood duck boxes, squirrel boxes, bat boxes and other artificial homes I build in the Park maintenance buildings and then placed into the wild.  At York River State Park we had a great bluebird program in which we would go check the boxes and count the young chics.  At other parks I helped stock fish, including trout into a river out of a transport truck.  In numerous lakes at our parks I participated in recycling Christmas trees as fish structure.  There have been times I rescued wildlife, like a red-tailed hawk hit by a car that a took to the vet.  There was one time I even captured a baby Emu running down the road and returned it to a neighbor that was raising it.  I have also gotten the chance to work with many reptiles in interpretive programs.  I also got to work on controlled deer hunts to help over an overpopulated herd.  I guess my Recreation and Wildlife Management Degree has come in handy through the years.