Photos by LG Patterson

On the western edge of Columbia, off a bumpy gravel road, is a slice of land where Jennifer Romesburg follows her childhood passion for rehabilitating wild animals.
That little slice of land belonged to her grandfather, who taught her everything he knew about caring for wildlife, and now Romesburg is following in his footsteps. Although initially she planned to become a conservation agent, after earning her bachelor’s in fisheries and wildlife from University of Missouri, she worked at a local animal shelter as the foster and rescue coordinator for 10 years. “I found that physically being able to rescue the animals was more of my passion than becoming an agent,” Romesburg says.

In 2012, she founded her first non-profit, Boone County Animal Care. Yet, it wasn’t until Romesburg came across Bi-State Wildlife, an organization specializing in rehabilitating wild animals, that she realized she wanted to become a licensed rehabber. Since 2014, she has been a licensed permit holder with the Department of Conservation as a wildlife rehabilitator and she is also certified with the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. Now she collaborates with wildlife centers to On the western edge of Columbia, off a bumpy gravel road, is a slice of land where Jennifer Romesburg follows her childhood passion for rehabilitating wild animals.

That little slice of land belonged to her grandfather, who taught her everything he knew about caring for wildlife, and now Romesburg is following in his footsteps. Although initially she planned to become a conservation agent, after earning her bachelor’s in fisheries and wildlife from University of Missouri, she worked at a local animal shelter as the foster and rescue coordinator for 10 years. “I found that physically being able to rescue the animals was more of my passion than becoming an agent,” Romesburg says.

In 2012, she founded her first non-profit, Boone County Animal Care. Yet, it wasn’t until Romesburg came across Bi-State Wildlife, an organization specializing in rehabilitating wild animals, that she realized she wanted to become a licensed rehabber. Since 2014, she has been a licensed permit holder with the Department of Conservation as a wildlife rehabilitator and she is also certified with the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council. Now she collaborates with wildlife centers to