Laura Barghusen is an Aquatic Ecologist at Openlands, a non-profit located in Chicago that protects the natural and open spaces of northeastern Illinois and the surrounding region. Laura works to improve access to northeastern Illinois Water Trails and to encourage education and stewardship on our region’s waterways. She also works to improve the health of rivers and streams within the Chicago Wilderness region. Laura is a coauthor of the publication A Field to the Fresh Water Mussels of Chicago Wilderness (2008) and Headwater Streams of the Chicago Wilderness Region: Status and Recommendations (2017). She holds an MS in Zoology from Miami University and an MA in Environmental and Urban Geography from University of Illinois at Chicago.