Heather Mackey

Biography: Heather grew up in upstate New York near the Adirondack Mountains. After completing a BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, she spent the next five years working as a field biologist. She has conducted conservation research in a variety of remote locations including Kodiak Island, Alaska where she led a two-month expedition to research the nesting ecology of the enigmatic Kittlitz’s Murrelet. She’s also worked in the Galapagos Islands, where she was part of a team studying Waved Albatross and Nazca Boobies as well as the Australian rainforest where she contributed to research on the behavior of the Satin Bowerbird. It wasn’t until she began her MS research at California State University Los Angeles that she discovered the wonderment of West Texas. She committed to field research in the hottest part of Big Bend National Park, during peak temperatures (100+ degrees), site unseen. Through her two seasons on the Rio Grande researching the impact of riparian restoration on the bird and butterfly communities, she’s developed a deep appreciation for the wildlife and the people of West Texas.