Deer Pond Farm Welcomes Jim Arrigoni, conservation biologist for The Connecticut Audubon Society

It is our pleasure to announce that Jim Arrigoni, conservation biologist, began his new role with Connecticut Audubon Society on Friday June 1. Jim will primarily be in charge of land management at Deer Pond Farm and assisting with management projects on other western CAS sanctuaries. He will also continue to lead educational and outreach environmental conservation programs throughout the state.

Over the past 20 years, Jim has worked as a field biologist throughout the northeast and western United States, as well as in Belize and China. Although his greatest expertise is with amphibians and reptiles, he also has extensive experience with invertebrates, trout and salmon, and, of course, birds. He has taught courses in conservation biology, aquatic ecology and herpetology at SUNY Syracuse and Goodwin College in East Hartford.

Beyond natural history and ecology, Jim is especially interested in understanding how people interact with and influence nature and wildlife, both historically and in the present day. He aspires to apply perspectives gained from his education and travels to finding solutions for the harmonious co-existence of people and nature in his home state of Connecticut. Toward this end, he views habitat restoration/management and public education as equally important endeavors.

Jim has a BS degree in wildlife biology from the University of Vermont and a MS degree in conservation biology from the State University of New York in Syracuse. He is currently working toward a PhD degree in conservation biology from SUNY Syracuse with dissertation research focused on the value of constructed wetlands for conserving biological diversity. In his free time he enjoys hiking, canoeing, gardening and cooking.