Stephen Vantassel

Stephen M. Vantassel is the Vertebrate Pest Specialist for the Montana Department of Agriculture. He began this role in 2015. Formerly, he was the Program Coordinator of Distance Education-Wildlife Damage Management for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources from 2004-2014.

Stephen has a Doctorate in Theology. His dissertation was entitled A Theological, Ethical, and Scientific Evaluation of the Christian Animal Rights Movement’s Opposition to Wildlife Trapping. He published his findings in a book entitled Dominion over Wildlife? An Environmental-Theology of Human-Wildlife Relations (Wipf and Stock, 2009).  He believes that his academic training coupled with “real-world” animal damage control experience provides him with a unique perspective on this controversial topic. In addition, Stephen has a M.S. in Leadership Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2013).