Steve Faccio – Conservation Biologist

A co-founder of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Steve Faccio is a Conservation Biologist with wide-ranging interests and skills as a scientist, naturalist, writer, and photographer. With over 25 years’ experience, much of his work at VCE is focused on forest ecology, including long-term population monitoring of forest songbirds, ecology of pool-breeding amphibians, and vernal pool mapping and conservation. Steve received his MS in zoology from Southern Connecticut State University, where he studied the activity patterns and habitat selection of a reintroduced population of fishers. Prior to grad school, Steve worked for the Connecticut Wildlife Division on a variety of field projects, ranging from monitoring and management of Piping Plovers and Least Terns, to snow tracking surveys for rare furbearers, interpreting over-wintering behavior of Bald Eagles at the Shepaug Dam Observation Area, and radio-tracking fishers.

Outside of work, Steve is an avid backcountry skier — an activity that combines his interest in mountain adventure with an appreciation for the effects of gravity. When the ground isn’t white, he enjoys mountain biking, hiking, listening to music, and thinking about skiing. Steve serves on the Vermont Endangered Species Committee’s Reptile and Amphibian Scientific Advisory Group, and on the Strafford Conservation Commission.

PUBLICATIONS

Visit my ResearchGate page to download or request PDF reprints.

Scientific Publications

• Faccio, S.D., K.L. Buckman, J.D. Lloyd, A.N. Curtis, and V.F. Taylor. 2019. Bioaccumulation of methylmercury in wood frogs and spotted salamanders in Vermont vernal pools. Ecotoxicology. DOI: 10.1007/s10646-019-02068-4.
• Faccio, S.D., M. Amaral, C.J. Martin, J.D. Lloyd, T.W. French, and A. Tur. 2013. Movement patterns, natal dispersal, and survival of Peregrine Falcons banded in New England. Journal of Raptor Research 47:246-261.
• Rimmer, C.C., E.K. Miller, K.P. McFarland, R.J. Taylor, and S.D. Faccio. 2010. Mercury bioaccumulation and trophic transfer in the terrestrial food web of a montane forest. Ecotoxicology 19: 697-709.
• Chace, J.F., S.D. Faccio, and A. Chacko. 2009. Canada warbler habitat use of northern hardwoods in Vermont. Northeastern Naturalist 16:491-500.
• Lambert, J.D., K.P. McFarland, C.C. Rimmer, S.D. Faccio, and J.L. Atwood. 2005. A practical model of Bicknell’s Thrush distribution in the Northeastern United States. Wilson Bulletin 117:1-11.
• Rimmer, C.C., S.D. Faccio, T.L. Lloyd-Evans, J.M. Hagan. 2004. A comparison of constant-effort mist netting results at a coastal and inland New England site during migration. In: Ralph, C.J. and E.H. Dunn, editors. The use of mist nets in population monitoring. Studies in Avian Biology 29:123-134.
• Faccio, S.D. 2003. Post-breeding emigration and habitat use of Jefferson and Spotted salamanders in Vermont. Journal of Herpetology 37(3): 479-489.
• Faccio, S.D. 2003. Effects of ice storm-created gaps on forest breeding bird populations in Central Vermont. Forest Ecology and Management 186:133-145.
• Faccio, S.D., and C.C. Rimmer. 1999. High rates of Brown-headed Cowbird occurrence in Champlain Valley forests: Conservation implications for migratory songbirds. In: Manley, T.O. and P.L. Manley, editors. Lake Champlain in Transition: From Research Toward Restoration. American Geophysical Union, Washington DC, pp 361-370.
• Faccio, S.D., C. C. Rimmer, and K.P. McFarland. 1998. Results of the Vermont Forest Bird Monitoring Program, 1989-96. Northeastern Naturalist 5(4): 293-312.
• Faccio, S.D. 1996. Predation of an eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) by a gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensus). The Canadian-Field Naturalist 110(3): 538.
• Faccio, S.D. and J. Corser. 1995. The reoccupancy of historic Peregrine Falcon nest sites in Vermont, their current status and future prospects. Vermont Botanical and Bird Club, Joint Bulletin No. 21, Dec. 1995, pp19-24.
• Faccio, S.D. and H.J. Russock. 1984. Status of a population of bald eagles wintering in western Connecticut. Raptor Research, 18(2): 77-78.

Selected Reports

• Faccio, S.D., L. Morse, S. Hagenbuch, J. Hill, S. Hardy, A. D’Amato, and B. Fisher. 2023. Sugarbush management impacts on forest structure and bird communities in Vermont. Final Technical Report. The Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Norwich, VT. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24168042.v1
• Faccio, S.D., S.W. MacFaden, and E.W. Buford. 2019. Where do Salamanders Cross the Road?  Development of a GIS Model to Identify Amphibian Road-crossing Hotspots: Final report submitted to the Vermont Agency of Transportation. 19pp. doi: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.7754930.v1
• Faccio, S.D., J.D. Lambert, and J.D. Lloyd. 2017. The status of Vermont forest birds: A quarter century of monitoring. Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Norwich, VT. 32 pages.
• Faccio, S.D., S.W. MacFaden, J.D. Lambert, K. P. McFarland. 2016. The North Atlantic Vernal Pool Data Cooperative. Vermont Center for Ecostudies. Final report submitted to the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative. (PDF)
• Faccio, S.D., M. Lew-Smith, and A. Worthley. 2013. Vermont Vernal Pool Mapping Project 2009–2012. Final Report to the Natural Heritage Information Project of the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife. 40pp.
• Faccio, S.D. 2011. Using egg mass surveys to monitor productivity and estimate population sizes of three pool-breeding amphibians at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park. Unpublished report to the National Park Service, Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Norwich, VT. 22pp. (1.3M PDF)
• Rimmer, C.C., S.D. Faccio, and K. P. McFarland. 2008. 2007 Report to the Vermont Monitoring Cooperative: Demographic monitoring of montane forest birds on Mt. Mansfield and Stratton Mountain, and forest bird surveys on Mt. Mansfield and Lye Brook Wilderness. Vermont Center for Ecostudies, Norwich, VT. Technical Report 08-02. 19 pp.
• Rimmer, C.C., S.D. Faccio, K.P. McFarland, and B. Collins. 2006. Ecology and demography of Bicknell’s Thrush on East Mountain, East Haven, Vermont: Evaluating potential impacts of wind turbine construction. Year 2 Progress Report. VINS Technical Report 06-01. 32pp.
• Fowle, M.R., K. Wohlfort, S.D. Faccio, and D. W. Blodgett. 2005. The 2005 breeding status and population dynamics of Peregrine Falcons in Vermont. Annual report to the Vermont Nongame and Natural Heritage Program.
• Faccio, S.D. 2003. Biological Inventory of Breeding Birds at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and Adjacent Lands. Unpubl. report, VINS, Woodstock, VT.
• Faccio, S.D. 2001. Biological Inventory of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park and Adjacent Lands. Unpubl. report, VINS, Woodstock, VT.