Kansas Herpetofaunal Atlas

Biographies of Kansas Herpetologists

Kansas is exceptional in its history of noted herpetologists; many were born here, some lived in Kansas during formative periods of their lives, while others made significant discoveries just while passing through. These biographies acknowledge their individual efforts and provide context to their life and times. They also attempt, as possible, to put faces to the names listed often in the KHA. The cumulative results of their work are simultaneously inspirational and humbling.


Ken Brunson ca. 2020.

BRUNSON, KENNETH R.
Kenneth R. Brunson (1 January 1950 — 2 November 2024)
Ken was born to Ruth Fern Morris and Theodore Reuben Brunson in Russell County, Kansas. A pupil of the great outdoors, "Skinny Kenny" grew up wild and lanky as a weed, overturning every rock and stomping every stream near where he grew up in Stockton, KS, eventually earning a zoology degree from Fort Hays State University.
Shortly after that, he started work as a fisheries and stream biologist for Kansas Forestry Fish and Game. He was initially hired under the SASNAK program, where his career lasted 38 years. He then became the Non-Game Wildlife Diversity Coordinator for the state, where he trailblazed wildlife conservation programs like Chickadee Checkoff, OWLS (Outdoor Wildlife Learning Sites), Kansas Anuran Monitoring Program, Teaming With Wildlife coalition, Non-game Wildlife Advisory Council,, and worked passionately for the conservation of Threatened and Endangered Species and Species In Need of Conservation across the state.
He retired in 2011 to start his second career with The Nature Conservancy, where he was the Red Hills conservation initiative coordinator for ten more years. He was a driving force for prairie conservation, and his life's work will benefit future generations.
Ken had many hobbies and interests, but his greatest loves were his wife (Lee Ann) of 51 years and the family they built, nature, and music. Even though Ken and Lee Ann grew up in Stockton and went to the same schools, they didn't begin dating until college and married a year after graduating. Together, they moved to Norton and Pratt, Kansas, where they had a small homestead with a large garden while raising three unruly girls, an assortment of mischievous hunting dogs, and multiple hives of bees.
In their free time, they hunted and fished, attended many musical events, biked the Red Hills of south-central Kansas, and helped with Christmas bird counts. Ken was active in multiple conservation-focused organizations, including the Kansas Herpetological Society, the Ornithological Society, the Speleological Society, the Native Plant Society, and the Wildlife Federation.
Ken was an insatiable learner with a penchant for curiosity about the natural world. His love of herpetology led to a natural depth of knowledge about all things reptile, amphibian, and turtle-related. Ken's passion not only fueled his curiosity but also inspired those around him and sparked a similar passion in his children, grandchildren, and countless others.
More recently, Ken and Lee Ann traveled the world, including trips to Peru, Ecuador, the Galapagos, and Botswana, and to visit grandkids in Oregon, Colorado, and central Kansas. Ken touched innumerable lives, and the world is a measurably better place because he lived there. The Kansas Herpetological Society has established the Brunson Award in his honor.
Last Updated: 9/6/2025 8:00:52 PM
Relevant Literature: 9 publications
1979 Brunson, Ken. Prairie rivers. Kansas Fish and Game 36(2):7-22
1981 Moss, R. E., and K. Brunson. Kansas Stream and River Fishery Resource Evaluation. Kansas Fish and Game Commission, Pratt. pp.
1986 Brunson, Ken. Meet our state reptile. Kansas Wildlife 43(4):5
1986 Brunson, Ken. Some unusual injuries to snakes. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (65):13-14
1986 Layher, William G., Ken L. Brunson, J.Schaefer, Marvin D. Schwilling, and R. D. Wood. Summary of nongame task force actions relative to developing three species lists: Species in Need of Conservation, Threatened, and Endangered. Kansas Fish and Game Commission, Pratt. 27pp.
1989 Brunson, Ken. More on the Kansas endangered and threatened species list. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (77):17-19
1989 Brunson, Ken. The rubber snake award. Kansas Herpetological Society Newsletter (77):19
2000 Brunson, Ken. Heartland hoppers. Kansas Wildlife and Parks 57(2):2-7
2000 Brunson, Ken. What's buggin' the frogs? Kansas Wildlife and Parks 57(4):41


Travis W. Taggart © 1999-2026 — w/ Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University