Fran Farrell

Fran currently works as a soil scientist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Eastern Idaho mapping the soils of Teton County, an area she has fallen in love with. An important part of her job is investigating the relationship between soils and landscapes. The holes that she digs provide a window into how soil formed on the landscape. Maps of soils and soil characteristics also provide important information to a variety of people.

During her studies in Resource Conservation, she discovered soil science. After graduation, as a science teacher, she added lessons about soils to the curriculum. Fran couldn't shake her interest in soils and went on to graduate school in Soils and Biogeochemistry from the University of California, Davis. Now that Fran works in such a focused discipline, she is especially thankful for the broad education she gained in Resource Conservation. Understanding different perspectives has helped her to recognize what soils information will be of interest to farmers, land stewards, biologists, ecosystem modelers, engineers, land developers, wetland specialists, foresters, regulators, and hydrologists.