Bio

Fern Crossway is a graduate student in the Landscape Ecology & Conservation Lab at the University of Washington. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in conservation biology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry where she developed her interest in endangered species conservation, landscape ecology, ecological networks, and wildlife response to anthropogenic changes to their environment. Fern’s ecological interests are broad, and she has applied her knowledge to a variety of roles from working on an herb farm to leading mark-recapture studies of at-risk butterfly populations in New England. Fern also has a background in environmental interpretation and is interested in nature-based education and the human-nature relationship. In her personal time, she enjoys hiking, climbing, photography, crafts and ecofeminist writing.

Fern’s current research involves evaluating how at-risk species respond to multiple, interacting stressors. Specifically, she is exploring how the Pacific Northwest endemic Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly will respond to shifting vegetation dynamics, climate change and management scenarios using spatially explicit modeling of interactions between individuals and their environment. 

Learn More About Fern’s Research