Meet the Staff | Nichole Wohlstein: Conservation Coordinator

     

    Hi everyone, my name is Nichole. I am the Conservation Coordinator for UPRCD. I am originally from Illinois, then I got married and we moved to South Dakota, then Louisiana and now here, in the beautiful UP! My hobbies include bow hunting (hunting in general really), fishing (ice, bass, fly, bow etc.), hiking and camping with my husband and golden retriever puppy, painting or anything art related and gardening. I have too many hobbies for my own good actually. 

    I love working for the UPRCD because of the diversity the job brings. Diversity in projects that are centered around habitat, wildlife, fisheries, invasive species, restoration projects you name it. If it's conservation related we do it or can do it. The diversity of partners is also amazing. With such large scale UP wide projects it is important to have a reliable network of partners to help accomplish goals for the common good of conservation. UPRCD covers the entire UP which is 15 counties, it takes a village to do all that we do. 

    Conservation is important to me because I had the opportunity to grow up with so much freedom in the outdoors. If I wanted to play in the dirt, trap bugs and make habitats for them, or build forts I could do that because it was available to me. I want to make it available to everyone for future generations. Just because it is there doesn't mean it always will be. That's why it's crucial to protect it and let me tell you there is a lot of threats. It is also nice to know that by doing conservation work it lessens the burden on some animals lives. This is apparent in habitat work, when you create habitat to sustain wildlife populations they will come and grow, live and be healthy. 

    What got me interested in the career field of conservation is large carnivore biology. Large is kind of a relative term because I worked for a time monitoring bobcats and coyotes in Illinois. When I was really young my dad and uncle saw a cougar chasing a deer across a field on our family land in Illinois. I was 10 and that got me really scared to be outside in the woods as much as I had been. After some time and a deep dive into websites and books on wildlife, years later I decided this was the best thing that ever happened to me and I'd map the cougar movements in Illinois in my free time. I guess it was- and still is- fun for me to learn what animals are doing, where they are and what they eat. It's as simple and complex as that. 

    My schooling consists of an associates in science in biology-natural resources from a community college. Then, I went to Lincoln College for a year studying conservation biology, that's when I got married and moved around a lot. And I finished my bachelors degree in ecology at University of Louisiana Monroe. 

    My goals working with UPRCD are to help out with field days across the UP to learn from our partners and contribute to the hard work they all do. 

    Lastly my favorite thing about the UP is the year round outdoor fun! I really like going to the Porkies and seeing all the natural beauty. I like the great lakes, waterfalls, and the little mountain ranges up here for the diversity.