Elizabeth Losey | |
---|---|
![]() Betty Losey doing field work at Seney National Wildlife Refuge. | |
Born | Elizabeth Brown Beard December 25, 1912 |
Died | 2005 (aged 92–93) |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | University of Michigan |
Occupation(s) |
Conservationist Refuge biologist |
Elizabeth Brown Losey (née Beard) (December 25, 1912 – 2005) was an American conservationist who is recognized as being the first female refuge biologist.
Losey was born in East Orange, New Jersey on December 25, 1912. [1] [2] She went to high school in Lynn, Massachusetts. [1] She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in wildlife management and conservation in 1946. [3] Initially, Losey could not find work because she was a woman. [3] She worked as a research assistant for the University of Michigan until 1952. [1] She created a series of teaching aids in wildlife management, including the Outline of upland game bird management (1947). [4]
In 1947 she was employed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as a biologist at Seney National Wildlife Refuge. [5] Her assignment was to understand the importance of beavers in waterfowl management. [6] Losey was the first woman research biologist in the country. [1] She quit when she was told she was being transferred West, as by that time "romance had crept in". [7] She was only employed by the agency for three years, but built up a successful career as an ornithologist. [8] Rachel Carson recognized Losey's preparations for a manuscript on trumpeter swans as "an excellent job of organizing the material for an effective story". [8] In 1964 she published her observation of duck broods at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge. [9]
Losey travelled America and Canada taking photographs of fur trading posts and collecting Native American art, which was later donated to the DeVos Art Museum in Michigan. [10] [7] Losey wrote two books. Let Them Be Remembered: The Story of the Fur Trade Forts, the story of the Hudson's Bay Company and the 1600 fur trade, was published in 1999. [11] Her second, Seney National Wildlife Refuge: its story, was published in 2003. [12] She remained a volunteer at Seney National Wildlife Refuge until her death in 2005. [3] She wrote her final peer-reviewed paper at the age of 92 on the history of the Sharp-tailed Grouse, which was published after her death. [13] She was a lifetime sponsor of Delta Waterfowl Foundation. [14] She is regarded as a pioneer in gender equality within fieldwork. [6]
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)
{{
cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link)