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).