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Advancing wildlife conservation through dedicated field research and detection dog work.
Advancing wildlife conservation through dedicated field research and detection dog work.
Katie Smith
Wildlife Biologist | Conservation Detection Dog Handler | Field Researcher
Employment History
National Park Service/GGNPC, San Francisco, CA
Wildlife Biologist, Full Time (40 hrs/week, May 2018 – September 2025)
Conservation detection dog team lead, trainer, handler, and park representative seeking to locate and protect western pond turtles and their nests via scent dog detection at Point Reyes National Seashore, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Presidio Trust, and Yosemite National Park.
Project lead for Marin Coyote Coexistence project. Duties include; planning, site scouting/monitoring, communication, outreach, education, management, training, building/installing traps, trap maintenance, safe handling and release of captured animals, and all aspects of processing coyotes without anesthetics; including blood-draw, pit-tags, applying temporary GPS collars, etc.
NPS field lead for a collaborative, county-wide bat monitoring project that includes; deploying acoustic detectors, mist netting (extraction, processing, sample collection, and tagging bats), radio telemetry, emergence observations, team training, outreach, and presentations.
Independently conducts field surveys, data entry, QA/QC, and reporting for western snowy plovers and bank swallows monitoring. Regularly contributes to population-wide research efforts.
Leads and assists with barred owl and spotted owl monitoring, including the use of autonomous recording units and locating owls and monitoring nesting success via call and response and visual observations.
Independently manages and maintains quarterly camera trap operations at remote sites, including data collection, organization, and analysis to support wildlife monitoring efforts.
Collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to conduct field surveys for endangered and sensitive species, including San Francisco garter snakes, California red-legged frogs, marbled murrelets, and Mission blue butterflies. Navigates challenging off-trail terrains via maps and GPS to support conservation research and monitoring efforts.
Animal Care and Control, San Francisco, CA
Volunteer/Mentor (May 2022 – present)
Provides basic care, training, and enrichment (including nose work, positive exposure, and socialization) to dogs in a shelter environment.
Assists behavior and training staff with implementing specialized training plans for individual dogs that need extra support.
Trains new volunteers in the classroom and hands-on with dogs.
Talon Ecological Research Group, Sunnyvale, CA
Jr. Biologist (December 2016 – June 2018)
Implemented adaptive habitat management strategies to support burrowing owl conservation year-round.
Collected and analyzed ecological data, including site conditions, species presence, and behavioral indicators of burrowing owls.
Conducted county-wide surveys for tricolored blackbirds, monitored breeding colonies, and documented population trends.
De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
Wildlife Science Program Instructional Assistant/Field Technician (September 2015 – August 2017)
Independently maintained/managed 30+ remote camera traps in Coyote Valley
Retrieved, managed, logged, and organized large data files
Practiced outreach, education, and advocacy in the classroom and at various events
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, San Jose, CA
Burrowing Owl Conservation Intern (June 2015 – December 2016)
Conducted systematic population count surveys both independently and with a team
Installed/maintained camera traps and artificial burrows
Surveyed for Congdon's tarplant range and abundance via quadrant and transect surveys
Education/Training
Noses for Nature, Search Dog Rescue Foundation, Santa Paula, CA
First ever in-person conservation canine conference in the U.S., 2-days (2024)
K9 Conservationists, Search Dog Rescue Foundation, Santa Paula, CA
3-Day Intensive Conservation Detection Dog Training Retreat, working spot (2024)
Conservation Dog Alliance
Active/contributing member (July 2024 - present)
Rogue Detection Dogs, Scent Dog Workshop, Gilroy, CA
1-Day, presentations with demonstrations (2024)
Odor Pays Skill Development, Ford K9, Santa Rosa, CA
3-Day, hands on, detection dog training course (2023)
Canine First Aid and CPR, Berkeley, CA
Hands on, training course at Berkeley Humane Behavior & Training Center (2023)
Ecology Detection Dog Working Group Student Conference, online
Ecology Detection Dogs of Britain and Ireland (2023)
National Park Service: Yosemite, CA
Wildlife Anesthesia, 4-day course (2023)
Wildlifetek Wildlife Detection Dogs Conference, online
2-Day conference (2022)
National Park Service: San Francisco, CA
Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response 24-hour Training (2022)
National Park Service: Sausalito, CA
Operational Leadership Training, 2-day course (2021)
Western Section of The Wildlife Society Bat Acoustics: Clayton, CA
4-Day Bat Capture and Sonobat Acoustics Course by Dr. Joe Szewczak (2019)
NOLS Wilderness Medicine: San Francisco, CA
Wilderness First Aid Certification and Epinephrine Auto-injector Certification (2018, 2022)
De Anza College: Cupertino, CA
Wildlife Science Technician Associate Degree; Magna Cum Laude (2017)
Wildlife Science Technician Certificate of Achievement-Advanced (2016)
References
“For the past 4 years it has been my privilege to do extended field work with Ms. Katie A. Smith on the capture and study of coyotes. I’ve worked with countless species throughout my career from badgers to African lions, and I’ve worked with hundreds of different people in the field. I can truly state that Katie Smith, by far, represents the finest of them all. Her work ethic is at the highest level. She is able to work alone without supervision, able to stay the absolute course on instructions and guidelines set, solve field problems as they arise without instruction, improvise in all kinds of difficult field problems and issues, and, above all, maintain a very positive attitude no matter the problem or difficulty of any task.”
- Dairen Simpson: Predator Capture Specialist, Predator Capture International
“Working with Katie Smith on our bat research has been a pleasure. She is a quick learner, and is efficient and effective both as a biologist and at organizing/managing people and logistics to ensure that fieldwork goes smoothly. Between her natural ability to communicate, her organizational abilities, her astute observations in the field, and her positive and motivated attitude, Katie brought so much to our project and would be a great member of any team.”
- Gabe Reyes: Bat Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center
“Katie’s capacity to communicate is excellent; she manages to convey her technical knowledge in an accessible way, delivering it with infectious enthusiasm. Katie has the attention to detail that makes her a good scientist, coupled with a global attitude, drive, and passion that make her a great ecologist, a champion for conservation, and an asset to any program.”
- Lizzy Edson: Former Natural Resources Data Manager, National Park Service/Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
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