Dr. Robert H. Schmidt

Biography

Robert received his pH.D. in Biological Ecology from the University of California, Davis in 1986. Prior to coming to USU in 1991, he was a Natural Resources Specialist in the Department of Forestry and Resource Management at the University of California, Berkeley. From 1991-2002, he was a faculty member in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at USU. In 2002, he moved to the newly created Department of Environment and Society.

Robert's research focus is on relationships between humans and wildlife. These relationships are often complicated, and at the heart of many disputes involving wildlife management. His projects have focused on coyotes and livestock, gray wolves and humans, green sea turtles, urban predators, hunting and trapping ethics, and wildlife euthanasia. Robert teaches a large course "Living with Wildlife" designed to get students thinking about the impacts on biodiversity of habitat loss and fragmentation, over-exploitation, and invasive species.