Steve Funderburk Oral History Transcript

Steve was born in Dickenson, California in 1952, moving to Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, and North Dakota as his father moved for his job as an oil and gas geologist. Steve’s interest in wildlife started as a child through hunting and fishing with his father, and wildlife photography with his uncle on wetland prairies in North Dakota. Steve received an undergraduate degree in wildlife management from Louisiana Tech University in 1974, and a master’s degree in wildlife ecology at Humboldt University, CA in 1976. His master’s thesis was on wetland bird use of the Lake Earl coastal lagoon system in northern California.

After graduate school, Steve worked for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for a year and a half in its fisheries department, then a short stint with the Corps of Engineers in St. Paul, MN.

Steve started his career with the Service in 1978 as a GS-5 biologist in the International Affairs program of the Washington Office, where he worked on international permits for migratory birds and the import/export of endangered species under CITES. He moved to the Annapolis, MD Ecological Services office in 1985. Steve was part of a small group of scientists hired by Glenn Kinser to start the first coastal estuary program in the U.S. – the Chesapeake Bay Estuary Program. This group was instrumental in getting the EPA-led federal/state partnership to add a living resources component to the Bay-wide restoration plan, which resulted in the guidance document, Habitat Requirements for Chesapeake Bay Living Resources.

In 2003, Steve moved to Region 5, Refuges program in Hadley, MA, where he was Chief of Planning and involved in the development of Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plans throughout the region at the inception of this important national management program. Steve retired in 2008 as a GS-14.

In his interview, Steve discussed his views on public and Congressional perceptions of the Service, noting that the Refuges program and other public involvement programs are key to improve understanding of the agency’s work to conserve the natural resources of the country. Steve advised employees starting their careers to find mentors who have experience and can teach them how the Service works. He also said that it is important to remember that staff positions are not political, to stick with providing the best scientific information, and to let higher management make the political decisions.