Lee Mitchell

From a young age Lee dreamed of being a biologist and spending his career in the outdoors working with wildlife and habitat.  Lee realized that dream when he was hired by the Department of Army at Fort Stewart, GA as a wildlife biologist shortly after graduating with a Bachelors of Science in Forestry and Wildlife Management from Stephen F. Austin State University in east Texas.  At Fort Stewart, Lee worked with many species, to include bobwhite quail, waterfowl, wild turkey, white-tailed deer, feral hogs, fisheries, and numerous threatened and endangered species such as gopher tortoise, indigo snakes, and red-cockaded woodpeckers.  Much of Lee’s time was spent mapping habitat types and writing habitat management plans for military training areas that included timber harvests, prescribed burning, and old field restoration to improve the training areas for wildlife as well as military training.  Lee was afforded the opportunity to obtain a Master’s Degree in Biology from Georgia Southern University based on the work he was conducting at Fort Stewart.  

From there, Lee worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in northern MO as a private lands biologist working with private landowners to enhance their property for wildlife.  Lee worked with the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), and Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) to help landowners develop their properties through these federal cost share programs. 

While Lee has had the opportunity to work with many species, it all comes down to the habitat!  Some species are generalists, while others are very habitat specific.  Lee’s approach to wildlife management is to work with the habitat on a client’s property to give the targeted species what they need to flourish.  No matter the species, Lee can help you develop your property to be the best it can be.  Lee evaluates a property from a holistic approach by evaluating all habitat types (fields, timber, invasive species, etc.) and providing recommendations based on his habitat assessment.  With Lee’s experience working with federal cost share programs, he can help you navigate the process if your property qualifies for assistance.         

In 2009, Lee began consulting with private landowners writing forestry and wildlife management plans based on their goals.  While most plans are aimed at whitetails or timber management, many landowners are interested in simply making their property a wildlife paradise.  From songbirds to growing 200” bucks, Lee has helped many landowners unlock their properties potential.  One such property is a 13,000-acre ranch is south Texas that Lee has been consulting on for more than a decade. 

Lee currently works as the senior Natural Resource Specialist for the US Army Corps of Engineers in the St. Louis District where he works in both Missouri and Illinois.  Due to Lee’s full-time job, his time is limited so get with him early!