Grace began in the lab in the Spring of 2016 and is currently in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science’s online Master’s Degree Program. Currently, she is a Biological Technician for the USDA Forest Service at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie assisting with the restoration and management of tallgrass prairies. Her work at Midewin has sparked an interest in the impact of restored habitat on native fauna. Her research will focus on snakes communities in relation to the age of prairie restorations. For her research, she will examine the occupancy, abundance, and diversity of snake species within Midewin’s restored sites, in relation to the age and size of the restoration. Grace’s work will allow for better guidance and practices for future tallgrass prairie restorations by determining which snake species are first colonizers and how the snake community then shapes.
Midewin has a fairly diverse snake community for Illinois comprising of the following species: North American Racer (Coluber constrictor), Eastern Hog-Nosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos), Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum), Common Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon), Smooth Greensnake (Opheodrys vernalis), Eastern Fox Snake (Pantherophis vulpinus), Queensnake (Regina septemvittata), Dekay’s Brownsnake (Storeria dekayi), Plains Gartersnake (Thamnophis radix), and the Common Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis).