A native of Wisconsin, John E. Toepfer earned his B.S. and M.S. in 1972

and 1976 at UW-Stevens Point where he developed a life-long interest in prairie-chickens and a special friendship with Drs. Frederick and Frances Hamerstrom. As part of his Ph.D. work he made the first attempt to reintroduce prairie-chickens in Wisconsin at Crex Meadows Wildlife Area in northwest Wisconsin.

In 1978 he followed radio-marked sandhill cranes from Wisconsin/Minnesota to Florida and back documenting the migration routes and stopover areas that are now being used to reestablish an eastern population of whooping cranes. 

He earned a PhD in Biological Sciences at Montana State University with his thesis on “The Ecology of the Greater Prairie-Chicken as Related to Reintroductions.” As a Professor at Little Hoop Community College at Fort Totten Indian Reservation in North Dakota, he developed the first Tribal College Native American Wildlife Program and was instrumental in the development of the Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative.

In 1992-1993 he translocated prairie-chickens from MInnesota into Illinois

to initiate the successful genetic rescue of prairie-chickens in that state.

Since 1996, he has served as Research Consultant conducting field research on prairie grouse with the Society of Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus, Ltd. (STCP). To address their concerns, and at the request of STCP Council members regarding the future of prairie-chickens in Wisconsin, he developed and carried out STCP’s field research project: Prairie Chickens & Grasslands: 2000 and Beyond.

Dr. Toepfer serves on the Attwater’s Prairie-Chicken Recovery Team and on the Board of the North American Grouse Partnership. In 2003, he received The Hamerstrom Award from the National Prairie Grouse Technical Council for outstanding contributions in the field of prairie grouse biology. He has also developed radio marking, trapping and handling methods for American bitterns to study basic life history, and located wintering areas and documented migration routes using telemetry and satellite transmitters.