Cooper Sherrill

Cooper was born and raised in Osage County, Oklahoma, in the southern reaches of the Flint Hills Ecoregion. He grew up in a farming and ranching family and has deep ties to the area. He received a BS Degree in Wildlife Ecology and Management as well as MS Degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management from Oklahoma State University. Upon completing his MS thesis, he remained at Oklahoma State in the Natural Resources Extension department, working on a multi-species grazing and prescribed fire project that covered Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. In 2022, he moved back home to the family farm and ranch in Osage county where he, his wife, their son and other family members raise goats, cattle, wheat and soybeans. He has extensive working experience with prescribed fire, from his time at Oklahoma State, in addition to the private burns he has been involved in for his entire life. As a land and livestock owner himself, working with private landowners comes easy to him, as he has a good understanding of the daily lives of these people and the various hurdles there often is when it comes to doing conservation activities on working landscapes. Working for ABC/OPJV, combines his passion for the prairie and his willingness and ability to help others. When he is not busy meeting with landowners, burning, attending field days or tending to his livestock, Cooper deeply enjoys fishing and hunting, especially squirrel hunting with his Mountain Fiest dogs.