Jacob Alexander
Wildlife Biologist
After several years working on production crews for some of the biggest names in country music, Jacob earned a Bachelor of Science in Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences from Oregon State University. During his undergraduate years, Jacob learned urban forestry skills as an arborist at Bartlett Tree Experts and served as research coordinator for Nashville Wildlife Conservation Center, where he led studies on the health and translocation of rehabilitated eastern box turtles.
At Copperhead, Jacob contributes to research aimed at protecting endangered species, with a particular focus on bat populations and ecology. He has experience with a wide array of bat survey techniques, including harp trapping, mist-netting, and radio telemetry surveys. He is passionate about the preservation and protection of threatened and endangered species and is an advocate for bat conservation throughout the United States.
An avid outdoorsman, Jacob hiked the entire Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia in 2019. He enjoys camping, rock climbing, and mountaineering whenever the weather permits.
Memberships:
• Southeastern Bat Working Group
• The Wildlife Society
Certifications:
• CPR, AED, and First Aid
• OSHA 10-Hour
Crystal Birdsall
Wildlife Biologist II
Crystal Birdsall graduated summa cum laude and received her bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from Westfield State University in 2015. Prior to coming to Copperhead, Crystal gained experience working for different state, federal, and private agencies in multiple states and outside the country. She has experience in aquatic ecology, water quality assessments, bacterial source tracking, invertebrate ecology, ecological restoration, wildlife rehabilitation (in New Zealand), butterfly surveys, and avian and bat fatality surveys at wind turbines.
Crystal joined the Copperhead team in 2018 as a bat field technician and has worked her way up to a full-time biologist in 2021. Working for Copperhead has enabled her to see a large number and variety of bat species while working in multiple states throughout the east and central United States. Her main research focus is with bats, as she is very experienced in mist-net surveys, hibernacula trapping, acoustic monitoring, vegetation surveys, guano collection, assessments for White Nose Syndrome, radio telemetry, emergence counts and artificial roost monitoring.
In her spare time, she enjoys anything and everything that gets her outdoors such as hiking, traveling, fishing, camping, photography, rock climbing and kayaking.
Memberships:
• Northeast Bat Working Group
• Kentucky Bat Working Group
• Southeastern Bat Working Group
• The Wildlife Society
Certifications:
• CPR, AED, and First Aid
• OSHA 10-Hour
• OSHA 30-Hour
• Project Wild Certified
Lauren Blackmore
Wildlife Biologist
Lauren holds a Master of Science degree in Ecology and Conservation from the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom, and she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from Anglia Ruskin University. She is pursuing a Master of Science degree in Wildlife Forensics and Conservation at the University of Florida.
Lauren has worked as an ecologist conducting bat field surveys, habitat assessments, and bird and reptile surveys. Her previous experience as a wetland scientist includes delineations, threatened and endangered species (T&E) surveys, writing section 404 permits, and GIS mapping. She joined Copperhead initially in a seasonal role, assisting in aerial navigation for bat migrations, radio tracking, and mist netting.
When not working, Lauren enjoys spending time with her fur babies, hiking, reading, antiquing, attending concerts, and plant hoarding.
Ian Burns
Wildlife Biologist II
Ian Burns earned his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Fisheries and Wildlife from the California University of Pennsylvania. Ian joined copperhead in May 2016 as a Technician and has worked his way up to Biologist. As a Biologist Ian is primarily involved with Threatened and Endangered wildlife surveys, Pollinator surveys, Wetland delineations, and Brandenbark™ installation. However, he enjoys all aspects of biology and loves any sort of work that gets him outside.
In his spare time Ian enjoys spending time with his friends and family, playing with his beloved dog Charli, and cooking spicy new foods.
Memberships:
• Northeast Bat Working Group (NEBWG)
• Midwest Bat Working Group (MWBWG)
• Ohio Bat Working Group
Certifications:
• CPR/AED
• OSHA 10 Hour
Taylor Culbertson
GIS Specialist
Taylor Culbertson received his B.S. degree in Wildlife Management from Eastern Kentucky University in 2012. He originally joined the Copperhead team in 2013 as a seasonal technician and became a full-time employee in 2016. Taylor has extensive experience leading crews for surveys related to bats of the eastern U.S., forestry, aquatic biology, pollinator identification and habitat. He also has extensive experience in spatial analytics using ESRI's ArcPro 3.X and ESRI's suite of mobile collection applications, Trimble hardware and software, and regularly designs, creates, customizes, and publishes mapping figures organization wide. In 2019, Taylor took a fisheries position with KDFWR, where he gained valuable experience that he has now brought back to Copperhead in 2022.
Outside of work, Taylor enjoys spending time with his family, camping, riding motorcycles, and exploring nature.
Memberships:
• Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals
Certifications:
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Permit for Indiana Bats
• Qualified Indiana Bat Surveyor (QIBS)
Shea Davis
Aquatic Scientist
Shea Davis attended the University of Kentucky where she graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Science. During her undergraduate career, her emphasis areas were water resources, wildlife, and field/laboratory analysis. Presently she is an aspiring aquatic biologist with a specific interest in freshwater mussels as well as cross-training as a wetland scientist.
In her free time she enjoys rock climbing, learning mandolin, looking for insects, and thrifting.
Kelsie Eshler
Wildlife Biologist III
Kelsie Eshler received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Environmental Earth Science with a co-major in Sustainability from Miami University of Ohio in 2015. Her undergraduate research was focused on marine ecology on the island of San Salvador, Bahamas. She joined Copperhead in 2017, bringing in consulting experience in Phase I/II Environmental Site Assessments, environmental hygiene assessments, and various ecological surveys.
Her duties at Copperhead include primarily threatened and endangered species surveys for bats in the Eastern United States, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental documentation, and ArcGIS mapping and analysis.
When not working, Kelsie enjoys making pierogis, exploring new places, and spending time with family and friends. She also enjoys caring for Evgeni, her bearded dragon, and her various houseplants.
Memberships:
• Ohio Bat Working Group
• Western Bat Working Group
Certifications:
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Permit for Indiana Bats
• OSHA 10-Hour
• OSHA 30-Hour
• CPR, AED, and First Aid
Malachia Evans
Wildlife Biologist II
Malachia Evans earned her A.A.S. in Natural Resources & Wildlife Technology from Garrett College as well as her B.S. in Wildlife & Fisheries Science from West Virginia University all while participating in multiple research projects throughout undergrad. Malachia joined Copperhead in March 2021 bringing years of previous experience in environmental consulting to the team.
Malachia’s primary focus throughout her career has consisted threatened and endangered bat surveys including habitat assessments, mist-netting, harp-trapping, acoustic monitoring, portal, hibernacula, radio telemetry, and artificial roost monitoring. In addition to bat related surveys, she is trained in GIS, wetland/stream delineation, forestry practices, environmental permitting, herbicide application, macroinvertebrate, fish, and water sampling, and artificial roost construction and installation.
In her free time, she enjoys a multitude of outdoor activities such as backpacking, photography, and kayaking and as well as spending time with her six pets (a horse, dog, and 4 reptiles). She is also on the leadership board of an exotic reptile rescue.
Memberships:
• Northeast Bat Working Group (NEBWG)
• Southeast Bat Diversity Network (SBDN)
• The Wildlife Society
Certifications:
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Permit for Indiana, gray, northern long-eared, Virginia big-eared, and Ozark big-eared bats
• OSHA 30 Certificate
• OSHA 10 Hour
• PEC Premier SafeGulf / SafeLandUSA Safety Training
Leslie Meade
Wildlife Biologist II
Les Meade earned a B.S. in 1995 and a M.S. in biology in 2000 from Morehead State University. After working seasonally on bat projects for Copperhead since 2012, Les joined our full-time staff of biologists in 2021. He brings over 20 years of experience in biological surveys and environmental consulting to the team.
Les has extensive experience working with bats, amphibians, and reptiles. In addition, he has surveyed for freshwater mussels, other small mammals, plants, fish, land snails, and macro-invertebrates. Les also has experience in stream restoration, marine mammal monitoring, and native vegetation restoration projects.
He is a board member of Herpetology Weekend, LLC, a non-profit that holds annual Herpetology Weekend events every spring. Les is also a wildlife photographer, with some experience in portrait photography.
In his free time, he enjoys traveling, hiking, adding to his collection of bat and bigfoot items, and spending quality time with his wife and two dogs.
Memberships:
• Kentucky Bat Working Group
• Western Bat Working Group
Certifications:
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Recovery Permit for Indiana bats
• PADI Open Water
Hannah Moore
Forester II / Habitat Restoration Specialist
Hannah earned her B.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Science, with a focus on entomology, from the University of Kentucky in 2017. After graduating, she served as an Environmental Education Leadership (EEL) Corps member at The Arboretum in Lexington, then began working with agricultural processing and integrated pest management (IPM) in Northern California. She is interested in biodiversity conversation and finding ways to improve our interactions with and sustainable use of the natural landscape.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, reading, and bug hunting.
Mike Schirmacher
Wildlife Biologist III
Mike earned a M.S. in Forestry and Natural Resources from University of Georgia and a B.S. in Zoology from Tennessee Technological University. Mike brings over 23 years of experience on bat behavior and ecology and has spent the last 15 years working on bats and wind energy issues.
Mike has led and managed research projects on bat ecology and has extensive experience with methodology to study and understand bats in a variety of habitats. He assisted with early research designed to sample and identify bats using acoustic detectors. He has experience with a variety of capture and survey methods including hibernacula counts, radio-telemetry, roost tree surveys and exit counts, acoustic surveys, and behavioral studies using infrared videography.
For the last 15+ years, Mike has led and managed field-based research projects at operating wind energy facilities designed to understand, estimate, minimize, and mitigate the impact of wind energy on bats. He led field operations on the first U.S.-based curtailment study and the first study to test acoustic deterrents as minimization strategies. Mike has experience working on a variety of wind facilities, turbine models, and bat and bird species, and has worked with several stakeholders to find practical solutions to complex problems. He has co-authored several papers and publications on bats and wind energy issues and given numerous presentations on related topics.
Mike resided in Denver, Colorado and in his spare time enjoys spending time with his son, exploring and staying active in the Rockies, and playing semi-competitive tennis.
Will Seiter
Wildlife Biologist II
Born and raised in Northern Kentucky, Will Seiter joined Copperhead in the summer of 2014 after his freshman year of college and has moved up from a seasonal technician to full time biologist. Mr. Seiter received his B.S. in Wildlife Management at Eastern Kentucky University and is currently working towards his commercial pilot’s license.
As one of our permitted biologists he has assisted with or conducted a multitude of mist-net surveys across the central and eastern U.S. He has worked extensively at Ft. Knox, KY monitoring the Endangered Indiana Bat maternity colonies that reside there, both from the ground and as a navigator during aerial radio telemetry surveys. In addition to bat work he is a certified Advanced SCUBA diver and has aided in several freshwater mussel surveys and an underwater mapping project. Aside from biological surveys, Mr. Seiter is one of our in-house photographers and videographers. He also is our lead in vertical access surveys.
In his free time Mr. Seiter enjoys rock climbing, caving, camping, and photography.
Memberships:
• Kentucky Bat Working Group
• Northeast Bat Working Group
• Southeastern Bat Working
Certifications:
• PADI Advanced Open Water