Patrick Kelly

Biography

Patrick is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Environment and Society of the Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University. Dr. Stefani Crabtree is his advisor. Patrick's research focuses on American bison (Bison bison) and European bison (Bison bonasus), specifically in the contexts of human-wildlife conflicts and management, social tolerance of wildlife, political ecology, and comparative environmental history. He combines methods from human dimensions of wildlife and environmental history to study and compare people’s acceptance and attitudes toward Bison spp. in the United States and Poland. His work aims to uncover how humans interact with and coexist alongside extant Pleistocene megafauna like bison in the face of rapid environmental and social changes. His work in Poland is in collaboration with Dr. Wanda Olech and Dr. Daniel Klich of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (Szkoła Główna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego). Additionally, Patrick is a graduate of the USU Climate Adaptation Science Specialization program. For this program, he worked as a member of an interdisciplinary graduate student research team combining climate projection and economic market data to provide USU Extension with a tool for farmers on future crop production potential in Cache Valley to increase farmer options for crop diversification and economic sustainability in the face of future growing uncertainties. Patrick regularly teaches ENVS 5000 Environmental Nonprofit and Volunteer Management (Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024), ENVS 4600/6600 Natural Resource Interpretation (Fall 2022, Fall 2024), and ENVS 2000 Natural Resources Professional Orientation (Fall 2023, Fall 2024). He earned his BA in Middle Eastern Studies from Florida State University and his MS in Outdoor and Environmental Education from Alaska Pacific University. He is the 2022-2023 Quinney College of Natural Resources Graduate Student Teacher of the Year. His website is www.patrickokelly.com