Author: Blake Sasse

In Memoriam – Kevin G. Chapman

Kevin G. Chapman, a biologist working for Schoener Environmental, Inc., was killed in an airplane accident on March 4, 2020 while conducting bald eagle surveys for a wind-power project in Lincoln, IL. Also killed the accident were wildlife biologist Matthew R. Hanson and pilot Mitchell Janssen.

Chapman earned a BS in Zoology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale and a MS degree in Ecology from Utah State University in 2016. Previously he had worked as a wildlife technician for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and on a number of fish and wildlife projects in the western United States.

Sources: Chicago (Illinois) Sun-Times March, 4, 2020; https://www.owensfuneralhomes.com/obituary/Kevin-Chapman

In Memoriam – Matthew R. Hanson

Matthew R. Hanson, a wildlife biologist working for Schoener Environmental, was killed in an airplane crash on March 3, 2020 while conducting bald eagle surveys related to a wind-power project in Lincoln, Illinois. Also killed in the crash were wildlife biologist Kevin G. Chapman and pilot Mitchell Janssen.

Hanson graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point, with a BS in Biology in 2004 and received a MS from Florida Atlantic University after completing a thesis project relating to bald eagles in the Everglades.

Sources: Legacy.com; Chicago (IL) Sun Times, March 4, 2020.

In Memoriam – Brandon White

Brandon White, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife technician, died in a helicopter crash on August 8, 2020 on Black Gap Wildlife Management Area in Brewster County, Texas while conducting aerial surveys for desert bighorn sheep.

Sources: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department news release, August 9, 2020.

In Memoriam – Dewey Stockbridge

Dewey Stockbridge, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife biologist, died in a helicopter crash on August 8, 2020 on the Black Gap Widlife Management Area in Brewster County, Texas while conducting an aerial survey for desert bighorn sheep.

Sources: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department news release, August 9, 2020.

In Memoriam – Robert Dittmar

Dr. Robert “Bob” Dittmar, state wildlife veterinarian for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, died August 8, 2020 in a helicopter crash on the Black Gap Wildlife Management Area in Brewster County, Texas, while conducting an aerial survey for desert bighorn sheep.

Sources: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department news release August 9, 2020.

Five Workers in Michigan’s Wildlife Disease Lab infected with tuberculosis

It was recently announced that 5 employees of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources tested positive for a latent form tuberculosis in 2019 after testing white-tailed deer for chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis. Hundreds of other employees and volunteers were offered testing but no results of such testing have been announced. Investigations of the incident did not discover exactly how the workers became infected.

Source: The Bridge (MI), March 6, 2020

Raptor Biologist Dave Bittner dies in climbing accident

Raptor biologist John David Bittner died January 9, 2020 while rappelling down a cliff in San Diego County, California to change the batteries on a camera installed on the cliff to monitor a Golden Eagle nest.

He received a B.S. in Zoology and Wildlife Management from The Ohio State University (1968) where he also conducted graduate studies in Avian Reproduction and Natural Resources (1975-1977). He worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Ohio Dept of Natural Resources, and taught at three different Universities. He co-founded the Wildlife Research Institute in 1993.

Source: San Diego Union Tribune, January 10, 2020.  Ramona Sentinel, January 16, 2020.   Wildlife Research Institute.