Andrew Rutter

Based out of Lawrence, Andrew serves as the Upper Wakarusa Watershed Coordinator. He has been involved with WRAPS since 2021, having worked for the Kansas Department of Health & Environment prior to KAWS. Having served as Fish Kill Response Coordinator and Project Officer for several WRAPS watersheds during his time with KDHE, Andrew has a unique perspective on the role industry and agriculture play in shaping water quality in Kansas. Andrew recently returned to Kansas after working as a wildlife ecologist in Illinois; there he managed human/wildlife conflict and studied the impacts of suburban sprawl on fragmented wildlife populations. Prior to that, he studied river otter ecology in southern Illinois. 

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Emporia State University and a Master of Science in Forestry from Southern Illinois University. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist® with The Wildlife Society. When he’s not managing wildlife habitat on his family’s land in southeast Kansas, you can find him hunting, fishing, or trapping. He also enjoys the food and music scene of Lawrence.