This fall evaluators Michelle Pezoil and David Moskowitz ran two Track and Sign evaluations for biologists working on Panthera’s Olympic Cougar Project on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State. During the second evaluation which occurred on the northern side of the peninsula, field technician Vanessa Castle earned a Track and Sign Professional certification.
Vanessa Castle (She/Her) is a member of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and currently her tribe as a Natural Resources Technician. She splits her time between fisheries and wildlife. When she isn’t in the Elwha River studying fish, she is working as a technician on the Olympic Cougar Project within her peoples usual and accustomed homelands. She began the track and sign journey on the Olympic Cougar Project but has expanded it into her everyday life teaching her young son Braven. She recognizes the importance of her and her child’s relationship with the natural world and is excited to continue this journey.
Vanessa’s work has been featured in various media including:
Can WA’s Olympic Peninsula cougars coexist with human development? | The Seattle Times
Women on the Waterfront: Vanessa Castle – Maritime Washington