Nicky Strahl is a Wildlife Biologist and a Hunter Heritage Biologist for Northern Illinois. Nicky assists the wildlife and other teams by conducting ground goose and waterfowl surveys, CWD surveillance and management, conducting grassland bird counts, harvest records for games species on managed lands, implements drawings for hunting opportunities on managed lands, conducts roadkill surveys, conducts spotlight route surveys, prescribed burns, endangered and threatened species surveys, waterfowl banding operations, upland bird banding operations, hunter fact sheet revisions/upload, refreshing of living with wildlife website, state fair wildlife/heritage tent logistics, deer check station, education of public in hunting heritage, R3, and general urban wildlife information dispersal, and assisting the public with nuisance wildlife issues. Also, Nicky helps the Learn to Hunt team when and where possible to assist other hunters, especially after their program completes, she helps get them into the lottery system and walks the public lands with them to help familiarize themselves with how public land hunts realistically function. She also is a certified hunter safety instructor. In her past, Nicky has been an ecologist and project manager for various private sector teams in the northwest suburbs of Chicago for the past 10 years. Her professional experience includes ecological consulting, ecosystem restoration (including planning, monitoring, and implementation), supervision of field crews, and performing fieldwork including prescribed burning, wetland delineations, and vegetation assessments. She also prepares and delivers public education and outreach materials and presentations to disseminate information to the general public. Nicky is a Certified Prescribed Burn Manager through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, has received OSHA 30-hour General Industry training, and holds a Commercial Pesticide Applicator’s license in Illinois. Before entering into the private sector in 2007, she has worked or volunteered in some capacity since 1995, starting as a technician with Lake County Forest Preserve District's Youth Conservation Corps. Returning to Illinois in 2001, she acted as the steward for Wright Woods Forest Preserve within the Lake County Forest Preserve District, a Certified Interpretive at a local zoo, and as a wildlife coordinator and monitor for the Chicago Wilderness Habitat Project in Lake County. Nicky also volunteered in a variety of roles including monitoring populations of butterflies, dragonflies, amphibians, bats, songbirds, and banding waterfowl. Nicky is a member for the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, Society for Ecological Restoration, Wildlife Society, Ecological Society of America, and The Land Conservancy of McHenry County. She is a single mother of two young children (Gwen-8 and Jameson-6), who enjoys going out on "backyard adventures", as well as historical adventures across America. Their favorite vacation locations include the Northwoods near Marquette, Michigan (where her undergraduate degree was obtained from: Northern Michigan University), to extended family members localities, or Colonial Williamsburg. Her passions include learning nearly anything outside, survival and historical living techniques, and ancient civilizations. Nicky is a self-taught first-generation hunter and is looking forward to bringing her children into this great sport with ethics and kindness in mind! She, her kids, and their dog (Liberty) have too many hobbies to list, but in short, they all just enjoy life together and spending time together with other friends with whom they teach a great many things to!