Brian Fagundes

Partner Biologist, Tulare County

As Tulare County Partner Biologist, I am based in the Visalia Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office. I work in partnership with NRCS staff to build meaningful relationships with farmers and ranchers in the surrounding area and implement conservation action that makes sense for landowners and managers.

I am a proud Azorean American from the agricultural community of Hanford, California. Farms, dairies, the Sierra Nevada, and Pismo Beach served as my childhood playgrounds and inspiration to become a wildlife biologist. I completed a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation and Management, and a B.A. in Geography from Humboldt State University. After working from non-profits to private companies to state and federal agencies on a diversity of lands all over the world, my roots in agriculture led me back to HSU (now Cal Poly Humboldt) to complete a M.S. in Natural Resources assessing the ecosystem service of Aleutian cackling geese on livestock pastures. Over the years I have studied frogs, mesocarnivores, passerines, raptors, salamanders, salmonids, small mammals, ungulates, waterfowl, and native plants. Working within the nexus connecting agriculture, human communities, and nature to help create a more wild and resilient future warms my soul.

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