Our #ScienceWoman campaign kicked off during Women’s History Month, and we’re going to keep on rolling! We’re looking forward by honoring women across the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and female conservationists who are making history in our agency and in conservation. With each #ScienceWoman, we’ll share a photo and a couple questions and answers about her work. Stay tuned for more posts!
Meet #ScienceWoman Molly Sperduto, biologist in our New England Field Office in Concord, New Hampshire.
Molly and her son Nick monitor nest boxes made and installed by the Canterbury Elementary School. Photo courtesy of Molly.
Molly studied biology and natural resource conservation at Duke University (I — Meagan — went to Duke’s rival, University of North Carolina. We’ve worked out our differences. 😉 ) and University of New Hampshire. Her conservation mentor is Lisa Williams from our East Lansing Field Office in Michigan.
Molly has been recognized for her pivotal role in planning and implementing restoration for more than 15 individual settlements in four New England states—resulting in many miles of restored streams and thousands of acres of habitat restored, enhanced or protected.
A birding field trip with the Belmont Middle School in Canterbury, New Hampshire. Photo courtesy of Molly.
Q. How did you get interested in conservation? A. My mom got me interested in conservation. When I was very young, we used to spend hours looking for spring wildflowers together. And as I grew older, she encouraged me to spend time backcountry canoeing in an incredible wilderness area in northern Ontario. Since then, protecting natural landscapes is something that I’ve always wanted to do!
Feeding Baird’s tapir at the Belize Zoo. Photo courtesy of Molly.
Q. What’s your favorite species and why? A. This is so difficult, but one of my current favorites is the Baird’s tapir – their closest relatives are horses and rhinos and they are kind of funky looking, with a long nose. I’d like to see one in the wild someday!
See more #ScienceWoman profiles!
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region 