Wilderness Fellowship Takes Lemont Native to Alaska

For as long as he can remember, Corey Anco has been enamored with nature.

“I was always interested in the biological sciences growing up, and I can remember being about 5-years-old and really excited about geology and rock tumblers,” said the native.

Other career possibilities would come and go as Anco was growing up.

“I also recall wanting to be a drummer, chef, and professional hockey player,” he said. “None of these careers panned out but I have picked up a couple other instruments along the way.”

What did stick was Anco’s draw to nature.

“There was always something about being outside in the woods, away from the sights and sounds of people, cars, and trains,” he said. “It was serene, and if you were quiet enough you could find yourself crossing paths with an oblivious whitetail or a skittish coyote. I always thought that was cool.”

These days, Anco, 24, is getting up close and personal with nature in Alaska as a wilderness fellow with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

As one of 10 men and women chosen for the program meant to further the careers of aspiring conservationists, he has devised a plan to track changes in wilderness character at Izembek and Becharof National Wildlife Refuges.

Last May, as Anco was about to graduate from the master’s program at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, he found out he had been chosen.

“I was sitting next to my friend Jay in the Duke computer lab getting ready to open my email. Jay had been extended an offer by the fellowship program and we have been applying to a lot of same positions so it started becoming this friendly game of if he got an offer I damn well better have,” he said.

Initially, Anco was hesitant about the opportunity.

“It was a fellowship and I knew it would come to an end as soon as my student loans kicked in,” he said.

But without any other job offers on the table, he decided to pursue the opportunity to spend six months in the Alaska Peninsula.

According to a press release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Izembek and Becharof refuges are among 555 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System, managed by the Service. About 20 million acres of the Refuge System are designated wilderness — meaning land is undeveloped and bears few signs of human activity.

Wilderness tracts exist in 63 refuges across the country. More than 18 million acres of Service-managed wilderness are in Alaska.  

Anco credits the influence of his parents, his mother a graphic designer and his father a machinist and mechanic, for his chosen field of study.

“I was fortunate to have grown up in a home that fostered independent thought and creativity,” he said. “While neither of my parents worked in the environmental field they both encouraged me to pursue my own interests, whatever it may be.”

Growing up in Lemont, Anco said he was “lucky to have a forest for a backyard.”

“I grew up in a cul-de-sac and the back of our house butted up against a forest, which at the time seemed like an endless woodland where one could get lost,” he said.

Anco spent many hours hiking and exploring the woods.

“I would say that where I grew up had a lot to do with the direction my academic career took, at least in the initial stages throughout my undergraduate degree,” he said.

Though Anco is ready to start his line of work in wildlife conservation, he is currently contemplating going back to school and earn a doctorate in wildlife conservation.

He would like to manage and restore ecosystems to promote recolonization and reintroduction where necessary of natural habitats.

“The intent is to rewild our natural surroundings, to bring back species and recover populations that have been removed and endangered,” he said.

Anco makes it back to Lemont occasionally for the holidays, he said there is not much opportunity for his line of  work in the village or the surrounding suburbs.

He feels lucky to be pursing a career that he enjoys.

“I have found a direction and line of work that I find truly fascinating and challenging,” he said.