Rufus Stephens is a Certified Wildlife Biologist, an educator, and author. Rufus collaborated with Jan Wrede to revise their popular book Attracting Birds in the Texas Hill Country: A Guide to Land Stewardship by TAMU Press which has been retitled Land Stewardship for Birds: A Guide for Central Texas. Currently he works as a wildlife consultant assisting landowners and communities with the development of wildlife management plans with special emphasis on the management of birds.
Rufus is President of Rufus & Associates Wildlife & Natural Resource Consulting, founded in 2017. His work is focused on assisting landowners and communities who strive to manage property and development in ways that provide sustainable wildlife habitat even in urban settings. He has a special interest, and expertise, in helping smaller acreage landowners to manage for a variety of wildlife.
Rufus retired in 2017 from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department after a 23-year career where he had worked as an urban wildlife biologist, a district wildlife biologist and most recently as the district leader for the 25 county Edwards Plateau Wildlife District. Over the years he has developed and conducted numerous workshops for landowners and was one of the original founders of the Texas Master Naturalist program.
Rufus’ experience includes working in western Kansas as a wildlife biologist for Kansas Department of Wildlife & Parks assisting landowners on a variety of habitat management practices such as design and installation of wildlife tree plantings, native prairie restoration, and wetland management. Rufus also worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation as a field researcher on white-tailed deer. Rufus is a graduate of Texas A & M University with a degree in wildlife ecology.