Katie Hietala-Henschell
Zoologist
kghietal@esf.edu
+1 (518) 402-8935
New York Natural Heritage Program
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
625 Broadway, 5th Floor
Albany, NY 12233-4757
Katie joined NYNHP in 2021 as a Zoologist, primarily conducting rare animal surveys on State Lands and in State Parks. She is the project lead for a new effort to survey rare fireflies in New York State Parks. Her survey work on Fishers Island (Suffolk County) contributed to a baseline understanding of targeted taxonomic groups' biodiversity on the remote island at the eastern edge of Long Island Sound. Katie also assisted with Bumble Bee species identification and specimen processing for the Empire State Native Pollinator Survey (ESNPS), which wrapped up in 2022.
Prior to joining NYNHP, Katie conducted surveys for and developed documents to provide guidance for the conservation of rare species as a Conservation Biologist with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Katie earned her B.S. in Applied Ecology in 2010 and her M.S. in Forest Ecology and Management in 2013 from Michigan Technological University. In her free time, you can find her gardening or hiking with her husband, two daughters, and dog.