Sue Morse Backgrounder

“Sue is one of the most capable and experienced naturalists in the United States."
--Harley Shaw, retired mountain lion biologist (Arizona Fish and Game Department) and editor of The Wild Feline Monitor.

Sue Morse, the founder and science director of Keeping Track, is highly regarded as an expert in natural history and one of North America’s top wildlife trackers. Since 1977, she has been monitoring wildlife, with an emphasis on documenting the presence and habitat requirements of bobcat, black bear, Canada lynx and cougar.

When not in the field conducting research, leading training programs or photographing wildlife, Sue can often be found presenting her findings and award-winning images to a wide range of audiences, including the general public, conservation leaders and students of all ages. Over the years, the University of Vermont graduate has served as mentor to numerous young people and inspired many to pursue careers in natural resources.

Awards and Publications

Among Sue’s many awards is the Environmental Leader Award from Unity College. She has also won the Franklin Fairbanks Award for lifelong work enriching the awareness and understanding of the natural world among New England residents. In addition, the Adirondack Council has honored Sue and Keeping Track for decades of conservation work in the Lake Champlain basin bioregion.

 

In addition to her full-time duties with Keeping Track, she manages her own forestry consulting business, writes science features and a regular column for Northern Woodlands magazine, and illustrates her work with her stunning wildlife photography. Keeping Track has published multiple editions of Wildlife and Habitats, an expanded collection of Sue's writings for Northern Woodlands magazine. She was also the author and primary photographer for A Guide to Recognizing the Florida Panther, Its Tracks and Sign, published by Defenders of Wildlife-Florida. In addition, she's written numerous articles and spoken to countless audiences about wildlife, habitat and conservation. 

Her research and photography are featured in Kevin Hansen’s book, Bobcat: Master of Survival, published by Oxford University Press. Sue is the subject of the children’s book The Woods Scientist, by Steven Swinburne. Another children’s book, Bobcat: North America’s Cat, is dedicated to Sue’s work as a felid conservationist and showcases her photographs.

 Sue and Keeping Track have been featured on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” and in Adirondack Life, Amicus Journal, Animals, Audubon, The Forest Magazine, Nature Conservancy, Orion Afield, Ranger Rick, Science and Children, Smithsonian, Sonorensis, Vermont Magazine, Vermont Life, Vermont Maturity, Vero Beach, and Wild Earth.

 Sue lives in Jericho, Vermont, at the edge of a rich and diverse forest she has helped conserve. It serves as a living laboratory for her own wildlife research and the training of Keeping Track monitoring teams.