Contact Information
Erin Foster Abernethy, PhD
Portland Area Urban Conservation Coordinator
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Ecological Services | Conservation Partnerships Division
Oregon Fish & Wildlife Office | Portland, Oregon
Email address
[email protected] (work)
[email protected] (personal)
About Me
In January 2022, I joined the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Portland, Oregon, as the Portland Area Urban Conservation Coordinator. My work has three focuses: on the ground conservation, science focused outreach, and building partnerships with people and organizations who have been excluded from working with the USFWS. Two projects that I am working on include a frog underpass north of Portland and a collaboration to increase water access by and for folks with disabilities in the Portland metro area.
In 2021, I worked as a post-doctoral scholar at Florida International University where I examine how power (structural and community) influences water management in Florida. Prior to that, I earned my PhD from Oregon State University in December 2020. My PhD research examined the impact of large dams on aquatic invertebrate community structure and population genetic structure in the Colorado River Basin. I earned my Master's degree from the Odum School of Ecology and Savannah River Ecology Lab at the University of Georgia. For my Master's, I examined how invasive species carcasses and scavengers were incorporated into energy flow on Hawai'i. Invasives eat invasives! I earned my Bachelor of Science from Appalachian State University, where I researched the impact of small dams on the population genetic structure of freshwater mussels. We found the surprising result of no genetic differentiation between populations up and downstream of small mill dams.
I enjoy spending time with friends and family outside whitewater rafting, flat water paddling, mountain biking, hunting, urban foraging, and gardening. Also, I can never read enough books.
Erin Foster Abernethy, PhD
Portland Area Urban Conservation Coordinator
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Ecological Services | Conservation Partnerships Division
Oregon Fish & Wildlife Office | Portland, Oregon
Email address
[email protected] (work)
[email protected] (personal)
About Me
In January 2022, I joined the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Portland, Oregon, as the Portland Area Urban Conservation Coordinator. My work has three focuses: on the ground conservation, science focused outreach, and building partnerships with people and organizations who have been excluded from working with the USFWS. Two projects that I am working on include a frog underpass north of Portland and a collaboration to increase water access by and for folks with disabilities in the Portland metro area.
In 2021, I worked as a post-doctoral scholar at Florida International University where I examine how power (structural and community) influences water management in Florida. Prior to that, I earned my PhD from Oregon State University in December 2020. My PhD research examined the impact of large dams on aquatic invertebrate community structure and population genetic structure in the Colorado River Basin. I earned my Master's degree from the Odum School of Ecology and Savannah River Ecology Lab at the University of Georgia. For my Master's, I examined how invasive species carcasses and scavengers were incorporated into energy flow on Hawai'i. Invasives eat invasives! I earned my Bachelor of Science from Appalachian State University, where I researched the impact of small dams on the population genetic structure of freshwater mussels. We found the surprising result of no genetic differentiation between populations up and downstream of small mill dams.
I enjoy spending time with friends and family outside whitewater rafting, flat water paddling, mountain biking, hunting, urban foraging, and gardening. Also, I can never read enough books.
