Natalie Unruh became interested in biology at an early age, thanks to many family trips to the mountains of Colorado and walks in her grandpa’s pasture while he pointed out different things about nature. Now she shares her knowledge with the next generation as the Education Specialist at the Kansas Wetlands Education Center.
The education center, located at 592 NE K-156, Great Bend, overlooks Cheyenne Bottoms and is managed by Fort Hays State University in cooperation with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks. Unruh has taken the job formerly held by Pam Martin, who retired last September after 14 years with the KWEC.
“I really like the close relationship KWEC has to surrounding schools,” she said. “I did not have something like that at my school growing up so it is awesome to see.”
Unruh joined the staff in January and by visiting area schools and conducting programs at the center, she is quickly becoming connected to the community, although she hasn’t actually moved to Barton County.
“I currently live close to my fiancé in rural Marion County where his family’s ranch is located. It’s quite the drive in the morning but I just put on my podcasts,” she said. She is engaged to a cattle rancher, Jarret McLinden, and they plan to be married in October.
Originally from rural Reno County, Unruh attended grade school at Yoder Charter School and then attended middle school and high school in Haven. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Wyoming.
“I went to UW because I wanted to get out of Kansas, then proceeded to really miss my family and meet a rancher from Kansas, so I’m back and could not be happier,” she said. “I ended up at KWEC because I was looking for wildlife-related jobs after college, this position was open, and I thought it would be fun to share some of the things I had learned in college with others.”
Free time
Outside of work, Unruh grew up attending Journey Mennonite Church in Hutchinson and currently attends Marion Christian Church. Her hobbies are “anything outdoor.” She likes to bow hunt, fish, hike, and take runs with her dog Rocky.
Moose encounters
One of her favorite animal encounters included the discovery that moose snore.
“I was lucky enough to be a part of a team collaring moose in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. We drove around the ski resort there looking for moose and when we found one, the lead biologist would tranquilize it. After the moose fell asleep, we would go up to it and it would be snoring! I thought it was so cute to see such a huge animal make a cute little snore,” she said.
After animals were tranquilized, biologists tagged and collared them, took some vitals, and then woke them up.
“After we got a cow moose down one time, we had an issue. The bull moose nearby thought we were going to hurt her, so he kept trying to charge us! So, we had to designate two of us as lookouts. We had to throw sticks and wave our hands to scare the bull moose off, but he kept coming back every few minutes. Eventually, we successfully finished the cow moose, woke her up, and then got out of there before anyone got charged by the bull.”
Community Connections is a regular feature of the Great Bend Tribune, showcasing people who live in the Golden Belt. We welcome readers to submit names of individuals who are active in the community that they would like to see featured in a future story. Send suggestions to news@gbtribune.com and explain their “community connections.”
