Wild Jobs: Conservation Agent Tammy Pierson

For conservation agent Tammy Pierson, no two days are ever the same.

Tammy Pierson scooped the baby deer into her arms. It shivered, but lay still as she placed it gently on the floorboard of her pickup. Someone had called earlier to tell Tammy the fawn’s mother had been hit by a car. Tammy knew a veterinarian who had the skills—and permits—to care for the orphaned fawn. While she drove, Tammy kept one eye on the road and the other on the fawn. The little deer hadn’t moved. Tammy thought it might be dead.

She thought wrong.

With a scuffle, the fawn sprang off the floorboard, hopped the truck’s center console and piled into Tammy’s lap. There, it tried—repeatedly—to jump out the rolled-up window. Tammy managed to keep her truck and the fawn under control. As a conservation agent, she’s trained to deal with the unexpected.

Tammy makes sure people follow hunting and fishing laws. Sometimes that involves busting bad guys in the dark of night. But she does much more than that. When folks can’t identify a plant or want to know when duck season opens or find a skunk in their barn, they call Tammy.

“No two days are ever the same,” Tammy says. “That’s one of the best things about being a conservation agent.”