QCNR News

For many years, Joe and Jessie Quinney demonstrated their support for the natural environment through their actions and resources. In their memory, the members of the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Foundation have provided a grant to ensure the Quinney's life...

Mountain lions are becoming more aggressive. Or maybe they aren’t? But their populations are certainly increasing. Or not? After cougars killed multiple people in the Pacific Northwest over in a few months in 2018, Outside Podcast host Peter Frick-Wright ...

When Cristina Chirvasa found herself roving the halls of the U.S. Capitol this fall, striking up conversations with congressional staffers with research portfolio in hand, she didn’t consider the experience intimidating — just good practice. After all, Ch...

For a century fire ecologists have worked to decipher a complex question — what does a “normal'' wildfire year look like in the West? That’s a hard question to answer for many reasons, but new research from a team in the Quinney College of Natural Resourc...

Early Sunday morning, four Utah State University Fire Club students, two Alpine Forestry employees, one Utah State professor and retired-now-volunteer wildland firefighter and one Park Record reporter met at Pinebrook Park. Fog blanketed the hills and a m...

From the powder-covered slopes of the northern Wasatch to the red rock wonderland of the state’s southern regions, Utah is known worldwide for its outstanding outdoor recreation destinations and unique experiences. With 2.5 million Utahns participating in...

The gate to Empire Pass reopened for an afternoon as Deer Valley Resort and Park City Municipal staff put on a biochar demonstration on the slopes of the mountain. Tire tracks carved through snow down a one-lane road, which stopped under one of Deer Valle...

The Biden-Harris Administration released the Fifth National Climate Assessment this week, a federal effort to comprehensively document the impacts of climate change and assess the state of climate science across the United States. The report, the first

LOGAN, Utah — The Utah State University Center for Community Engagement and the Office of the Provost selected Laura Gelfand and Sunshine Brosi to serve as the inaugural Faculty Fellows in Community Engagement on Nov. 3. The Faculty Fellows program will f...

Just north of the Utah-Idaho border, the site called Wuda Ogwa is sacred to members of the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation — their ancestors gathered at the site every winter season for hundreds of years to rest, socialize and share their resources. ...

Peter Howe tracks a looming threat unfolding across the United States, one that causes more human casualties than floods, hurricanes and tornadoes combined — and one that you’ve perhaps never even thought much about. Extreme-heat emergencies pose a ser

Perched on the northeastern coast of Africa, the tiny country of Djibouti is a place of extremes. Rugged mountains soar to the north, while near the coastline a saline lake sinks more than 500 feet below sea level. Desert claims 90 percent of the country’...

On Tuesday October 10, The Utah Community Forest Council and ISA Utah Chapter organized an honorary tree planting for Dr. Mike Kuhns at Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake City. Dr. Kuhn’s was joined by his wife Jennifer and his sons, Ben and Noah. On Dr. Kuhn

The T.W. Daniel Experimental Forest (formerly known as the School Forest), is 4 square miles of Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine and quaking aspen in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest on the high peaks above Bear Lake. It is managed by USU in cooper...

September marked the end of Water Year 2023, and it was certainly one for the books. Snowpack, runoff and increases in reservoir storage all were all unusually large. Current estimates for the year’s total runoff in the Colorado River Basin and increases ...

Since the HMS Beagle arrived in the Galapagos with Charles Darwin to meet a fateful family of finches, ecologists have struggled to understand a particularly perplexing question: Why is there a ridiculous abundance of species some places on earth and a sc...

Through hands-on and administrative programs, the Ecology Center helps researchers and students bridge academic boundaries, facilitating collaboration among ecologists and ecology-related faculty across departments and colleges. Now leadership at the Ecol...

ST. GEORGE — As the days grow colder, Southern Utah’s tarantulas are completing their annual moonlit quests for romance. And soon, sightings will be scarce again until next year.

The Janet Quinney Lawson Institute for Land, Water and Air released the 2023 Report to the Governor and Legislature on Utah’s Land, Water and Air at an event in downtown Salt Lake City on Thursday morning.

It was a prodigious task. One that required deep expertise, thousands of hours of effort and a skilled team that included, among others, 12 rangeland and wildlife professionals affiliated with the Quinney College of Natural Resources. The new book, Rangel...

MOAB, Utah — Braving monsoon rains, a group of 12 Utah State University students, along with USU Moab professional practice assistant professor Terry Dial, took a four-night, five-day camping and canoe trip on the Colorado River a week prior to the beginn...

Perhaps you were in a movie theater in the late 1970s, as a sunburnt boy used his pocket knife to cut through a tangle of rope binding a jet-black stallion on an abandoned beach. You might have witnessed the kid bonding with the animal over sun-drenche

What happens in Vegas may, perhaps, stay in Vegas — but for families trying to live in Utah’s popular recreation communities like Springdale, Moab, and Park City, trouble has a way of following them home.

ENVS invites applications for a broadly trained scholar in recreation resource management and nature-based tourism in the tenure-track position of Assistant Professor. We are especially interested in candidates who will broaden existing department streng...

Dr. Brenda McComb and Dr. Dianna Fisher discussed advancing representation in natural resources and visibility in academics during a recent seminar in the Quinney College of Natural Resources on incorporating diversity and inclusion in natural resources....

Recent research from a team from the Quinney College of Natural Resources, in collaboration with the Bayer Corporation, has begun to tease out strategies for better sagebrush rehabilitation — but it has required out-of-the-box thinking.

Charlie Crisafulli was a 22-year-old undergraduate student at USU when he began conducting research at Mount St. Helens just months after the May 1980 eruption

There have been a few studies showing that dogs in general — not specifically dogs with commercial walkers — are disruptive to wildlife. “The most severe impact is that they can kill wildlife,” explained Julie Young, an associate professor in Utah State U...

New research from a team led by Young Zhou, from the Quinney College of Natural Resources and the Ecology Center, shows that, in addition to trees, humble grasses also play an essential role in capturing carbon — more important than previously thought.

From watching wildfire to keeping tabs the deep blue sea, QCNR is gaining broad expertise with the addition of four new faculty members this fall semester. Learn a little more about their experience and focus and get ready to welcome them to the team!

The NATURE Program – Native American Tribes Upholding Restoration and Education – aims to support the next generation of Indigenous leaders by building their skills in the fields of environmental conservation and natural resource management. The leadershi...

In a study published in June, researchers led by professor Jack Schmidt of Utah State University said one option would be to drill tunnels around Glen Canyon Dam and equip them with emergency valves, which could be closed “in the unlikely event that large...

The world’s most massive living organism has been regenerating itself over thousands of years in Fishlake National Forest. How it will fair longterm amid a warming climate and threats from disease is less clear, according to Karen Mock.

It’s time for a serious reckoning with the way we use water from the Colorado River, and the way forward will be tough, according to a new publication by Jack Schmidt, chair of the Center for Colorado River Studies in the Quinney College of Natural Resour...

Led by faculty Trisha Atwood and Edd Hammill, students took part in a 13-day immersive Introduction to Coral Reefs study abroad course on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Just off the I-15 highway near Perry, Utah, QCNR faculty, staff, and students, in partnership with UDOT and consultants, have been hard at work establishing a rest stop pollinator garden — sanctuary habitat for bees, birds and butterflies.

Salt Lake City officials announced a new tool on Monday to help homeowners reduce their outdoor water use. Using software created by Utah State University, the city's Department of Public Utilities will provide WaterMAPS reports that calculate how much wa...

New research from Sarah Null and Ratha Sor reveals an alarming decline in the number of fish species in the critical Mekong River system, a change connected to dam development on the world’s most productive river system.

Algae on snow that hasten melting and reduce the reflectivity of the sun are becoming more common in Western mountains. Scott Hotaling and a team of researchers are taking a closer look at how much more quickly we are losing snowpack as a result.

A warming climate means less frequent but more intense rainstorms in some places, so which plants will be able to best adapt? A team of QCNR researchers has answers.

When human movement plummeted during the shutdown, unusual reports of animal activity began to trickle in from around the world — things like cougars roaming the streets of Santiago, Chile, and metro California. In Utah, on the other hand, things played o...

Did you know that land and ocean ecosystems absorb about half of the carbon dioxide we emit each year? But what if the earth had the capacity to absorb even more? With the help of some furry, scaly, and leathery critters, maybe it can.

The plan represents a 14% reduction in consumptive water use in the three Lower Basin states, said Jack Schmidt, a professor and director of Utah State University’s Center for Colorado River Studies.

The Utah Conservation Corps, an AmeriCorps program based out of Utah State University’s Center for Community Engagement, is partnering with USU Uintah Basin to re-launch a Youth Conservation Corps program out of the Vernal Campus. The program will offer 1...

Utah forests have had an especially tough couple of decades, and foresters are grappling to manage the standing dead trees. An emerging tool — biochar — shows potential to benefit both forest and the greater ecosystem, according to USU forestry resources ...

For years, Utah State University ecologist Karen Beard has spent her summers camping and working on the mosquito-ridden tundra of Alaska’s Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, doggedly documenting the persistent pace of climate change. The shifts she rec...

The Great Salt Lake has risen significantly thanks to a record snowpack, but what does that mean for scientists' predictions that the lake could dry up "in the next five years"? Simon Wang explains the factors that will impact the future of the lake.

The 2022 Annual Report for the U.S. Geological Survey, Utah Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit.

When graduate Mikenna DeBruin arrived as a freshman at Utah State University, she didn’t know how to properly layer, she sheepishly admits. She traversed ice-slicked sidewalks in shorts, tromping bare-legged through frigid temperatures and snow drifts. He...

QCNR graduate Tyler Coleman learned early on not to focus just on academics. Looking for experiences in the field, volunteering and getting out to shake people's hands were priority experiences for him.

Don’t try and hurry her — Grace Larson prefers to set her own pace. Six years after high school graduation, she is gearing up to graduate with an undergraduate degree in Recreation Resources Management from the Quinney College of Natural Resources, with s...

USU forestry students have the chance to network and hear from Terry Baker, chief executive of the national Society of American Foresters organization in a keynote address on reforestation.

The Great Salt Lake Collaborative has created an interactive website to help Utahns understand the critical role Great Salt Lake and its wetlands play in the ecosystem that is crucial to 10 million birds.

Bees, butterflies and beetles pollinate plants, enrich soils and provide a critical protein source for species up the food chain. Unfortunately, according to many state statutes, insects are not considered wildlife.

Paige Sargeant, a major in Management and Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems, describes her Goldwater Scholarship application experience.

When President Joe Biden considers the economic trajectory of the country, he weighs factors like the global pandemic, international trade agreements ... and expertise from Jack Schmidt and a team of researchers from Center for Colorado River Studies. Wor...

While some students headed to sunny beaches for the recent spring break, a few students from chose a different kind of experience — they traveled to the short-leaf pine forests of the Missouri Ozarks to set things on fire.

Stefani Crabtree and her colleagues model how ancient humans move. With a novel strategy that virtually simulates the decision-making of early wayfinders, the team mapped probable pedestrian “superhighways” across Sahul, the supercontinent that existed be...

As water from Great Salt Lake disappears, it leaves behind a crust vulnerable to erosion by wind, and the particles once trapped underneath can be lofted into the atmosphere. Blakowski aims to understand the consequences when heavy metals and pollutants b...

Salmon fisheries are complex systems. New research models the region's complex social and ecological structure to help managers understand how their policies will impact the big picture.

The 2023 Spring Runoff Conference has a goal to support connections between on-the-ground management and research by highlighting the collaborative ways that professionals are responding to unprecedented challenges they face in water management.

A recent report from QCNR Alum Sara Goeking concludes that thinning Utah’s forests “is not guaranteed” to increase the water flowing to the Great Salt Lake, and has the potential to decrease it instead.

QCNR is celebrating Black History Month by highlighting contributions from activists, managers and scholars in natural spaces.

Humans don’t hold a monopoly on COVID-19 infections — we’ve passed the virus on to other animals: dogs, cats, lions, mink and deer, to name a few, and researchers don’t yet know much about how SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) moves through anim...

Intensely brilliant and starkly white, freshly fallen snow is the most reflective natural surface on earth — normally. A clean snowpack reflects back most of the sun’s energy and allows snowpack to persist longer into spring and summer seasons. But snowpa...

Mike Jacobs and Cathy Schloeder received their doctorates in rangeland ecology and wildlife ecology, respectively, at Utah State University in 1999. Beginning in the 1980s, they forged distinguished careers working in difficult places beset by poverty, vi...

As communities in Utah work to conserve water, the surplus water they set aside may not actually make its way downstream into the banks of the struggling Great Salt Lake.

Utah State University Professor Jack Schmidt has devoted nearly 40 years to research of river systems, centered on the Colorado River, its tributaries, and the Grand Canyon. During his academic career — as well as time spent as chief of the U.S. Geologica...

Sitting on the sandy banks of the Colorado River, reporter Ian James from the LA Times took notes as USU students shared thoughts, experience and fears about the fate of the water in the river over the next few years. This led off a series of articles abo...

As water levels at the lake continue to decline, the complex natural systems the lake supports are shifting, too. Ecohydrologist Erin Rivers from the Quinney College of Natural Resources is investigating how shifting water levels at the Great Salt Lake ar...

Peter Howe, an associate professor of geography in the Department of Environment and Society, has been named associate dean for academics in the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources. Howe is stepping into the new position recently creat...

Christian Stewart, a Watershed Sciences major and undergraduate researcher was among 26 Aggies selected to present research posters to state legislators and visitors to Utah’s Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City on Friday, January 20.

In honor of their time spent at USU, Jim and Jeri Spinner, pictured here at Star’s Perch Yurt, decided it was time to give back to the institution that gave so much to them. Working with the Advancement team, the Spinners were quickly able to see their vi...

The conference takes place March 14 and 15. This year's theme is Utah’s Watershed Moment: Innovation in a Time of Accelerating Change.

Inside the mountaintop glaciers of the Pacific Northwest lives a mysterious creature---black, thread-like worms that wiggle through snow. These ice worms are studied by QCNR's Scott Hotaling (even though some researchers once thought they were fictional)....

A new report on the Great Salt Lake coauthored by Utah State University Department of Watershed Science’s Patrick Belmont and Janice Brahney do not mince words — without major intervention, they say, the Great Salt Lake could disappear within five years. ...

Previous dean of QCNR, Chris Luecke, announced his retirement from the college in December 2022. His research and service have shaped the QCNR community in significant and lasting ways over the course of his career.

Oil drilling is not light on a landscape. Unpaved roads and drilling pads can damage plant communities by habitat loss, creating barriers for seed dispersal, introducing exotic species, increasing dust and disturbing pollinators.

Snowpack, important to summer water supply, melts away in March. Mammoth swaths of lakebed surrounding the Great Salt Lake are now cracked and windblown. Perhaps it should be no surprise that at the top of Utahns’ list of concerns for 2022 is water supply...

Dr. Peter Adler and Michael Stemkovski, a Ph.D. student from the Department of Biology, investigate how a changing climate is transforming vegetation across landscapes in the West.

As a terminal lake, one without an outlet, the same process that makes the Great Salt Lake so salty also makes it prone to collecting pollution since it acts as the end of the line for the rivers that empty into it.

New research shows that wolf coat color may signal resistance to canine distemper virus, enabling the animals to identify partners that can offer a chance at disease-resistant offspring.

Researchers from the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism have been tasked with identifying potential sites for a new cultural center for the Bear Ears National Monument.

Graduate students from QCNR participated in the Delta Waterfowl University Hunting Program that included hunter education classes, shooting practice, and discussions about the role hunting plays in the management of natural resources.

At USU Uintah Basin, students have the opportunity to work in the laboratory of a faculty member for an eight-week, paid summer internship. Students get to choose a mentor within the College of Science or Quinney College of Natural Resources and work in t...

Management of wild horses and burros on public lands is an complex and intensely scrutinized task. A summit organized by the Berryman Institute drew together a remarkably disparate set of stakeholders to create a foundation for addressing the hard realiti...

IORT has been tasked with gathering local perspectives on outdoor recreation issues to present to the state’s Outdoor Recreation Commission, and this was one of seven listening sessions held across the state.

Communities in Utah have recovered, mostly, from pandemic disruptions, according to survey data from the Utah Wellbeing Project. But there are still a few places, and a few issues, that have room for improvement.

The cost of innovation is rising, according to Joseph Tainter, whose research connects anthropology and environmental science to understand the trajectory of complex social systems. Today it takes more people, investment and energy to develop and implemen...

A well-designed fence can help to prevent conflicts with carnivores, but with so many options for material, placement and logistics, researchers can struggle to identify what strategies have the best chance for success. They turned to ranchers for help.

A recent evaluation of the massive aspen stand in south-central Utah found that Pando seems to be taking three disparate ecological paths based on how the different segments are managed.

“I’ve never seen a surge in available forestry jobs like the one we are seeing right now,” said Karen Mock, department head in Wildland Resources in the Quinney College of Natural Resources.

A diverse group of managers, scientists, consultants, and wetland enthusiasts came together for a boots-in-the-field discussion about how to turn ground back to native wetland plants.

A growing number of land managers and ranchers are noting the perks of having a beaver-in-residence, and are inviting the animals to find a home on their property — with the help of the team at the Beaver Ecology and Relocation Center.

Students at USU Uintah Basin have the chance to participate in hands-on paid internship experiences as wildlife technicians in the region. The Prairie Dog Crew interns work to survey for active and inactive prairie dog burrows to estimate populations in a...

For more than two decades trends for above-normal temperatures and below-normal rainfall have ruled the West.

This summer the team included undergraduate students from the Quinney College of Natural Resources (QCNR) who had the chance to get on-the-ground experience through a cooperative paid internship program with the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.

Linda Nagel took the helm as dean of the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources this month, launching her new leadership role at Utah State University.

Research tracking the flight habits of American white pelicans could make it safer for aircraft to take to the skies.

Students at USU Uintah Basin have the chance to participate in hands-on paid internship experiences as wildlife technicians studying wildlife ecology in the region.

In a study published in 2020, Janice Brahney, Utah State University associate professor in the Department of Watershed Sciences, made a startling discovery: microplastic particles are widespread in the Earth’s atmosphere.

A tree is sometimes more than just a tree. In 2018 Rogers and a colleague tracked dead and live trees, stem regrowth, shrub cover—and mule deer feces. The strongest indicator of forest health was regeneration, and the presence of deer corresponded with po...

The 2021 Annual Report for the U.S. Geological Survey, Utah Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit.

Linda Nagel will be joining Utah State University as dean of the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources in August.

Lake Aculeo, located in Chile, can serve as a cautionary tale, according to Will Munger, a Ph.D. student in ENVS.

A team of graduate students at USU are working to measure airborne dust as water levels recede at the Great Salt Lake, monitoring what could be the start of an ecological disaster.

Utah's title of "greatest snow" is at risk due to climate change. Listen to Jordan Smith and Patrick Belmont discuss this issue on UPR's UnDisciplined.

A full-slate of events kept students and staff fully engaged during Natural Resources Week 2022. Come check out the photos of the fun!

Emily Bonebrake (WILD) took home the award for the Best Undergraduate Presentation during the most recent college sponsored Rapid Fire Research. Check out the video about the event.

Cristina Chirvasa is one of three USU Goldwater Scholars in 2022, one of the nation's top recognitions for undergraduate STEM scholars.

Although savannas already hold substantial belowground carbon, new research found that increasing tree cover through fire suppression captures much less carbon than projected.

This year's Spring Runoff Conference will be held March 29 on USU’s Logan campus and will combine the science of forecasting drought and its implications for federal, state and local perspectives.

Trees have a complex relationship with snow and energy as the season warms up, but new research shows that big trees can protect melting snowpacks in water-stressed environments.

In 1990-1991, USU Moab professor Wayne Freimund participated in a research project at Arches National Park dealing with visitor management; and now he will be reexamining that research to see how their thinking and findings from the past compare to the re...

New research from the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism works to define what, specifically, the changing climate will mean for the future of outdoor recreation in the West.

Dr. Jim Lutz (WILD) studies Big Trees — not necessarily the heavyweight species like coast redwood or giant sequoia — but the biggest trees in any given forest.

American white pelicans who pause their migration at Strawberry Reservoir are filling their bellies with native species like Utah sucker for the most part, leaving cutthroat trout to the human anglers. Phaedra Budy, Gary Thiede, Kevin Chapman, and Frank H...

Jack Schmidt was featured on FOX Weather where he discussed the extreme drought in the west and its impact on the Grand Canyon.

Peter Howe’s research was cited this week in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. This years’ IPCC report focuses on impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability related to climate change.

Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep make a tough choice every winter — to remain cold, hungry, and relatively safe from predators at high elevations, or to drop down to more temperate and more risky low-elevation ranges. New research explores the strategies they ...

Foraging animals have better lives when they act as optimists, using a lopsided learning process in which information about bad outcomes is discounted or ignored, according to a new research model.

It's hard to get heard on social media, even when the message is a warning from the National Weather Service about excessive heat. New research explores strategies for better dissemination of weather-emergency messaging.

Bella Wetzler recently complete a research project at Cedar Breaks, as a result of the QCNR Undergraduate Research Grant she won to study how big logs in the old growth Douglas-fir/western hemlock forest change the way new tree seedlings survive and grow....

Cache Valley-based podcasters, USU alumni, and ‘anti-alarmists’ Kory and Kellan tapped Dr. Joseph Tainter for his expertise on the collapse of society (spoiler alert—no zombies. It’s tied to fossil fuels, ecosystem sustainability and the complexity of soc...

Forests around the world have the capacity to pull carbon out of the atmosphere to battle global climate change. But how much carbon they actually absorb is a question that still needs answering, and tree ring data can help, according to a new research sy...

Manlove was recently nominated for, and participated in Scialog, an experimental conference designed to generate cross-discipline and scale-spanning brainstorming among academic researchers. Manlove was awarded one of several $50K seed grants for her team...

During a recent career fair, students from the Quinney College of Natural Resources connected with management agencies and organizations to participate in summer internships.

The killing of more than 500 wolves in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming in recent months—including nearly 20% of the wolves that sometimes range outside of Yellowstone National Park—threatens to undermine a decades-old effort to restore the predators to the la...

Boundary-pushing research led by Stefani Crabtree and a team of researchers that used high-performance computer (HPC) modeling to map ancient pedestrian routes is the recipient of the High Performance Computing Innovations Excellence Award.

Sarah Cross Brown is big on ‘Take Two’ experiences. The first time around, for instance, her university path didn’t quite click. Two decades later, Brown found her educational stride at the Quinney College of Natural Resources.

Using anonymous mobile device data, USU Researcher Wayne Freimund hopes to determine the carbon footprint of tourism to Utah’s Arches National Park. Through this project, he’ll be able calculate average miles per trip to the park, and from that determine ...

Jack Schmidt sees three shades of a silver lining to Friday’s doomsday-seeming announcement from the Bureau.

The iconic Great Salt Lake is in serious trouble, and lawmakers are noticing. Water levels in the lake have reached record lows.

A new story in Arizona Daily Star amplifies research results from the Center for Colorado River Studies, pointing out that emergency plans for water saving in the Colorado River likely won’t be enough.

Research on big trees from a team led by Jim Lutz was featured on NPR's Science Friday, covering everything from the inherent awe humans find in old-growth forests to the ecological factors that keep big trees healthy.

A new institute at USU that focuses on sharing evidence-based research with state decision-makers released its 2021 Report to the Governor on Utah’s Land, Water, and Air.

USU researchers explored the utility of using a system that automatically classifies content from social media photographs to identify preferred outdoor landscapes.

The award-winning book "Yellowstone Wolves" was written by the people who prepared and performed reintroduction and spent 25 years researching and managing wolves.

A new grant will allow researchers to determine how water markets can be used to make water management systems more resilient.

The USU Range Club members placed in both the plant identification contest and the Undergraduate Range Management Exam (URME) team competition at the Society for Range Management in November. The team faced off against 40 other students from BYU, UVU, SUU...

QNCR is well represented in a new report summarizing more than a decade of science from Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW).

Click for the schedule and locations for USU's undergraduate recruiting open houses running through the fall semester.

700 bison were being rounded up and corralled as part of the annual event at Antelope Island State Park, which this year was supported by volunteers from the student chapter of the Wildlife Society in the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resour...

Chris Luecke, dean of Utah State University’s S. J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources (QCNR), announced he will step down from his leadership post, effective July 2022.

Utah Business and Rocky Mountain Power honor Utah companies and individuals who are making strides toward the state's environmental sustainability. Dr. Roslynn McCann was one of this year's honorees.

With support from a major new grant from the USDA, Juan Villalba (left), Jennifer MacAdam, Eric Thacker and Kathy Trundle (not pictured) will work on novel ways to produce beef as an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable food.

On a planet where people touch every ecosystem, tweak every landscape, adjust almost every natural process either directly or indirectly, humans need to ask just what, exactly, they owe to animals.

Off-highway vehicle recreation attracts a variety of people with diverse motivations for participating. Newly published research shows that those motivations influence routes they choose.

Over the next few months, The College Tour featuring USU will appear on multiple streaming platforms like Amazon Prime, AppleTV, GoogleTV and Roku. Quishema Brown, a Wildlife Ecology & Management major, is featured in the episode and wrote the “An Educati...

Stefani Crabtree, assistant professor of social-environmental modeling in USU’s Department of Environment and Society, and colleagues have developed a tool to assess research performance more fairly; one that they hope will level the playing field.

To better understand the complex interactions between the natural world and society, the National Science Foundation needs a next-generation Earth systems science initiative, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, ...

Hope Braithwaite organized the Utah State University Water Quality Extension event, “Pack It Out Utah” which ended on Sunday.

Extension Specialists Eric Thacker and David Dahlgren presented to U.S. congressional staffers on rangeland and wildlife science during a recent information-gathering tour of Utah counties.

By mid-century, once dominant winter sports may slowly be replaced by activities less dependent on perfect winter conditions—less skiing and more winter mountain biking, for instance—according to recently released research about changing patterns of recre...

Utah State University researchers Courtney Flint (right) and Jessica Schad (left) are participating in a new $15M National Science Foundation-funded project to help communities and ecosystems become more resilient when they face complex challenges like dr...

When cubs are orphaned the summer after first den emergence, the UDWR contracts with USDA and Utah State University to care for the bears until they are old enough for release back into the wild by UDWR.

New research from Stefani Crabtree shows that modern subsistence diets, and the diets of ancient people, were much broader than what most people eat today.

Have you ever wondered how wildfire, fish, and water security are interconnected? Patrick Belmont presented at Swaner Preserve and Ecocenter in Park City Thursday, Aug. 12. Click to view his talk.

Earlier this week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (a United Nations working group) issued a report last released in 2013 that said, “climate change is code red for humanity” and that it is “clearly human-caused.”

A new article appearing in Science Magazine features Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies, who 'thinks big and speaks candidly,' and may just be what the doctor ordered for the struggling Colorado River.

The research team determined that soil from biodiverse communities helped to reduce plant pathogens, and boosted plant growth.

The research team created avatar programming for early human travelers and gave them the realistic goal of staying alive. These modeled humans were drawn to water and other landmarks, while the calorie outputs of their efforts were measured.

Award-winning research out of the Department of Watershed shows that Bonneville Cutthroat trout have developed coping mechanisms to adapt to some waterway interruptions.

A budget-conscious project in Parley's Canyon, Utah included an overpass that was more narrow than the standard design. Nicki Frey evaluated the structure and documented hundreds of animal crossings within the first few months of research.

Congratulations to our graduating class of 2021! Please follow this link for photos of our graduates and a video of our 2021 QCNR Commencement.

We would like to recognize and congratulate our outstanding QCNR undergraduate students who are actively engaged in research.

Discoverer of more than a dozen new plant species and author of many more plant names, Leila Shultz is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award for her years of discovery, education, conservation and support of the magnificent flora of Utah.

Dr. Charles Romesburg passed away on April 18, 2021, at the age of 83. He is, and will be, missed.

Come join us on April 23rd from 1-4pm to help celebrate our reopening! Click to see the flyer to learn more.

Microplastics are so pervasive that they now affect how plants grow, waft through the air one breathes, and permeates distant ecosystems.

Joe Wheaton and a cadre of researchers from Utah State University’s Department of Watershed Sciences is garnering national attention for its efficacy to restore riverscapes to healthier and more resilient states.

Charles (Chuck) Hawkins, has earned the prestigious Award of Excellence from the Society for Freshwater Science (SFS) for 2021.

Dr. Patrick Belmont presents on climate change denial at TEDxUSU, March 2021

Congratulations to all the recipients of S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources (QCNR) Awards for 2021!

Dr. Trisha Atwood contributed to the assessment of global carbon emissions from trawling in an article that is featured in the NY Times.

In a new exhibit at the Natural History Museum of Utah, Null, associate professor in the Department of Watershed Sciences, and her colleagues, use art, interactive exhibits and accessible science to illustrate how decisions about river management can be i...

Catch up with what our faculty and staff have been doing at the Quinney College of Natural Resources over the past 6 months.

With 10 years of monitoring data on the Right Hand Fork indicating that the brown trout in this stream were negatively impacting the entire cutthroat trout population in the Logan River. A USU research team proposed a combined effort to conserve the popul...

While COVID-19 brewed over the summer of 2020, venues like schools, sports stadiums and theme parks shuttered their doors. Going stir-crazy at home, people desperate for fresh air and exercise headed outside to parks and protected areas for a change of sc...

Glaciers in western Canada are disappearing at a rate nearly twice the global average, leaving major ecological disruptions in their wake. Janice Brahney and her team are investigating what that means for the ecosystems the glaciers support. Credit: Janic...

We are saddened to announce that Fred Wagner, an emeritus faculty member and Associate Dean of the Quinney College of Natural Resources passed away this past Sunday. This announcement is linked to his obituary.

Dr. Patrick Belmont will be presenting at USU's TEDx event on Friday, March 5th. The presentations will be from 6-8 pm.

Utah continues to provide much-needed late winter snowfall, hydrologists say the state currently has 80% of normal snowpack. Researchers at USU are already looking ahead to fire season by investigating how wildfires impact Utah’s water supply reservoirs

Listen to the UPR interview with Larissa Yocom and Paul Rogers concerning wildfires in the west.

The new publication builds upon a 2020 white paper, “Strategies for Managing the Colorado River in an Uncertain Future.”

New research from Soren Brothers, assistant professor Utah State University Department of Watershed Sciences and Ecology Center, details how lakes in Nunavut could have a big impact on carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, and it’s not all bad news.

Recently, Ellie Leydsman McGinty developed an interactive Google Earth Web Map of the Landsat Program’s long history. NASA had the opportunity to talk with her about this project.

We lost a special friend, colleague, and scientific intellect this week. Martyn M. Caldwell passed away from complications of Parkinson's and Lewy Body disease on January 24th.

This video, created by undergraduate students in our college, takes a look into the history of women in the Quinney College of Natural Resources.

Monarch butterflies are facing a dire situation across the country, with their numbers plummeting dangerously close to extinction levels.

The cowboy lifestyle is still part of the Colorado Plateau with over 90% of the region being utilized by the cattle industry. Climate change and environmental degradation are threatening the future of cattle ranching.

As carbon dioxide levels in the Earth's atmosphere increase, the battle against climate change worsens.

We were all saddened to learn that Nat Frazer, Dean of the Quinney College from 2006 to 2011, passed away from complications of Hodgkins Disease this past Monday.

A developer eyeing Bridal Veil Falls for a tram and drug rehab lodge wants to make the iconic Utah County site more accessible with a “reasonable” fee. But those who research outdoor recreation have found any fee can dissuade people from visiting.

In May 2020 Nicki Frey, an Extension assistant professor in the S.J & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, and her undergraduate researcher, Natalie D'Souza, began monitoring wildlife use of a new overpass crossing.

With a push to conserve natural resources, one that is often overlooked or taken for granted is a resource that can be enjoyed after every sunset.

Greetings and welcome to the first WILD Alumni and Friends newsletter! In this first edition, we look at two of our members: Bill Woody and Jennifer Bakken.

Mark Kreider is an MS student in Ecology, advised by Dr. Larissa Yocom. Mark is known for his research on post-fire forest regeneration, including a paper on the identification of aspen seedlings in a field. Mark is also a spectacular classical pianist.

Joseph Tainter is interviewed by the NY Times about the current COVID-19 pandemic and how it ties in with some of his early career research.

Roslynn Brain and Edwin Stafford involved over 800 youth in a Utah High School Clean Air Poster Contest. PBS featured this project earlier this year.

Catch up with what our faculty and staff have been doing at the Quinney College of Natural Resources over the past 6 months.

A new study provides strong evidence that exposure to light pollution alters predator-prey dynamics between mule deer and cougars across the intermountain West, a rapidly growing region where nighttime skyglow is an increasing environmental disturbance.

To improve restoration and agricultural practices, USU scientists are studying how soil microbes and moisture affect native and nonnative plants.

More than 100 state leaders from across the political spectrum gathered virtually Wednesday morning to sign, what they are calling, the first-ever Utah Climate and Clean Air Compact — urging the state to become a national leader on climate action.

Often, residents only interact with city employees when something goes wrong. With the help of three interns, however, Logan city has produced a podcast to help people understand what workers are doing the rest of the time.

Low carbon energy infrastructure has been controversial for economic, social and environmental reasons: relatively high capital costs compared to fossil fuels; dissatisfaction with who owns the infrastructure; visual impacts; and habitat harm.

The year 2020 has changed how so much of the world is delivered, including how the delivery of recognitions and awards.

The rodent creates fireproof refuges for many species, suggesting wildlife managers should protect beaver habitat as the U.S. West burns. (Email Sign-in Required to Read)

National parks are really easy to love, but they are harder to take care of.

Emeritus Adjunct Professor, Ron Goede recently passed away. A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, September 27, 2020.

On January 29, 1863 the U.S. Army Cavalry attacked the Northwestern Band of Shoshone, killing over 400 people and instigating the largest mass murder of Native Americans in the history of the United States.

With 10 awardees, Aggies tie for first among 134 institutions from North and Central America vying for student grants from the Geological Society of America

In this episode of Instead with Dr. Patrick Belmont, you will learn– How streams and fish can benefit from wildfire. How much disturbance is too much. And, what Utah has in common with California wildfires.

Leaders across the west are grappling with how to share the supply of water from the Colorado River. If trends continue cities, towns and farmlands won’t have enough water for their needs, and won’t leave enough water for the river ecosystem to function....

Dr. John Neuhold was a distinguished professor in the Fisheries and Wildlife Department at Utah State University. We will miss his strong conservation ethic and his great sense of humor.

Drought and dams have pushed Tonle Sap into dangerous decline, threatening its swamp forests and the fish nurseries there that provide most of the nation's protein.

Global study sheds new light on current species declines, past species extinctions, and disruptions to Earth's ecosystems

As an environmental scientist, I am often asked if it’s too late. With so much division and political dysfunction, is there any chance that we can solve the global environmental crises that threaten us and our planet?

In memory of Huey Johnson. Huey was an exceptional alum of the college and a recipient of the distinguished doctorate from USU.

Extreme heat is a growing hazard to public health, causing greater mortality than other hazards like floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes in the US. Yet in 2020, the risks of extreme heat may be magnified even more by the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic...

Microplastic particles and fibers spiral through the Earth system, accumulating even in protected wilderness areas and national parks in the western U.S.

The S.J. and Jesse E. Quinney College of Natural Resources Dean’s Office affirms the message by USU President Noelle Cockett and the University’s “commitment to inclusion and respect in our Aggie family and in those communities we reach every day.”

Spring is in full swing. But a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that those birds in your backyard may be changing right along with the climate.

As a result of recent events, including the earthquake and coronavirus pandemic, more Utahns than ever are interested in growing and producing their own food.

Back in 2013 Matthias Koschorreck, a biologist in the Department of Lake Research at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Germany, on a whim decided to take some measurements in the catchment of a small river in Catalonia, Spain.

While it may seem that the efforts of local governments have only a marginal impact on the global issue of climate change, local action can spread to generate large-scale change.

Finding Columbia spotted frogs in Utah's mountains is not easy. But it's possible, with a guide like Paula Trater. She leads a visitor down a dirt path, then through mucky wetlands filled with cattails and a riot of birdsong.

The Earth's carbon can be stored in trees and plants, in the ocean, in fossil fuels deep underground, and in the soil directly beneath our feet.

A new paper including research from a Utah State University scientist provides a framework for understanding how light and noise pollution affects wildlife.

Utah State University President Noelle Cockett has committed to the implementation of new greenhouse gas reduction recommendations that will lead to greater sustainability, cost savings, and improvements to USU facilities, activities, and culture.

Two longtime members of Utah State University’s Department of Environment and Society were honored recently by the Society for Range Management (SRM) for their career achievements in rangeland science and management.

The Great Salt Lake is facing multiple threats that put ecosystems, economies and species at risk, said Wayne Wurtsbaugh, Utah State University professor during a “Canyon Conversations” lecture Saturday morning.

In August, USU Backcountry Hunters and Anglers with Cache Anglers Trout Unlimited Chapter helped Clint Brunson from Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in electrofishing Temple Fork and Spawn Creek documenting non-native trout encroaching into this system...

One of the goals of QCNR is to develop collaborative programs that help students gain hands-on professional work experience to move them forward on their desired career path.

PROVIDENCE – Tyler Coleman, a volunteer for Trout Unlimited, took a paper cup with trout eggs to the Center for Creativity, Innovation & Discovery Tuesday afternoon and put them in a basket in a large aquarium.

High school teacher Jill Kennedy prefers to go beyond books. She believes in encouraging her students to get their hands on their projects —but not just the typical bridges built with toothpicks.

First-graders know that seedlings need three things to grow - sunlight, water, and soil.

Human-wildlife conflict is a challenge in many parks and protected areas, and is often the result of improper behavior on the human side of the equation.

Rallies to open the “Global Climate Strike” took place in 110 towns and cities across Australia. More than one hundred students, faculty and staff held signs and umbrellas at a wet and rainy rally on the Quad at Utah State University.

Utah State University’s Trisha Atwood, assistant professor in watershed sciences and the Ecology Center, says animals deserve credit for their role in maintaining healthy coastal ecosystems … and their impact on the big picture of climate change.

In the past decade, increasing numbers of visitors to parks and protected areas have both stretched management resources and exacerbated human-caused problems.

Migrants and their labor are responsible for moving hundreds of billions of dollars around the world annually. At their destinations, they affect populations, cultures, and economies. Their movement has a major impact on the places they leave.

When there is a combination of population increase, wastewater discharge, agricultural fertilization and climate change are harmful to humans and animals. The cocktail produces harmful algal blooms, and many of these are toxic to humans and wildlife.

Utah State University Professor Nancy Mesner, Water Quality Extension Specialist in the Department of Watershed Sciences, coordinated the aquatic portion of USU STARS! GEAR UP program by getting high school teachers and students out on the water.

Each fall, about a thousand cattle pass through southern Utah’s Pando aspen grove, believed to be the world’s most massive living organism, pausing for a week or two on their way from summer to winter pastures.

When you think of national parks, you might picture the vast plateaus of the Grand Canyon, the intricate wetlands of the Everglades, or the inspiring viewscapes of the Grand Tetons.

Insecticides in at least one area are not only failing to control mosquitoes, new research suggests, they’re actually allowing the blood-sucking pests to thrive—by killing off their predators.

Innovation in biofuels involves more than good ideas, according to Joseph Tainter from the Department of Environment and Society in the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources.

Jacqueline J. Peña,a recent Ecology master's alumnus, from the Department of Wildland Resources in the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources, was awarded the 2018 Ecological Society of America (ESA) E. Lucy Braun award.

When one considers harm done by mining operations to rivers in the West, it is tempting to speculate—if people then could only understand what is known about how river systems work … could one have avoided decades of ecological upheaval and disaster?

Each summer, millions of people in the Intermountain West make a sandwich or two, throw fishing gear in the car and head to nearby rivers and lakes to enjoy time on the water. Recent climate trends are making a good catch more difficult to come by.

NPR Tiny Desk Concert Contest 2019 SubmissionMama Longlegs performs original song "You Will Not Erase"

Undergraduate Research Fellows Bryce Frederickson and Ethan Hammer receive prestigious national award

Fear of death or injury keeps humans well away from dangerous places or risky situations, so it seems reasonable to assume that wild prey species will do the same when it comes to avoiding their deadly predators.

Last summer, a year after 72,000 acres of high-elevation woodlands burned around southwestern Utah’s Markagunt Plateau. Residents of Brian Head noticed something strange, tiny white cottony puffs drifted through the air and piled up on the ground

Morgan Larsen, a USU-Uintah Basin student, received the Berryman Institute Scholarship that, in addition to the monetary award, provided Larsen the opportunity to spend the summer working for the United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Service.

What happens when you mix a biologist who studies beetle horns with scientists who spend their time exploring predator-prey dynamics? You get a better understanding of why elk shed their antlers much later than males of any other North American species

USU scientists have shown that a 'landscape of fear' does not keep Yellowstone elk from using risky habitats. In an online article "Ecological Monographs," the researchers discuss how elk use nightly lulls in wolf activity to access dangerous areas.

Opposition is mounting rapidly to a Colorado man’s proposal to pipe Green River water from Utah to the Denver area — and the objections aren’t coming only from the usual suspects.

Utah State University-Uintah Basin hosted an Earth Observation and GIS (geographic information system) day for local high school students.

Visitors to national parks in Utah, as well as many other tourism destinations, make decisions based on weather conditions. But will climate change affect the way tourists experience Utah’s national parks?

How did the urban forest come into being and succeed? Utah State University researcher Joanna Endter-Wada worked with researchers from the University of Utah with funding from iUTAH to answer this question.

Huntly is the director of the USU Ecology Center and was recently named a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, a large community of ecological scientists.

At 3:00 a.m. on a frigid winter morning Nicki Frey, an extension associate professor in the Department of Wildland Resources at USU, leads a group of new biologists who are trapping west of Bryce Canyon.

A recent study by Utah science researchers indicates communicating about science can have an impact on efforts by scientists

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — The number of Utah snowmobilers is declining despite an increase in the state's population, a report by Utah State University has found.

LOGAN, UTAH - Hydrologists are looking centuries into the past to better understand an increasingly uncertain water future.

Utah State University environment and society professor Chris Monz, his former student Ashley D’antonio and Kevin Gutzwiller demonstrate the impacts of recreationists on wildlife populations.

Researchers have partially hidden earth's largest life-form behind a small protective fence.

The early 1970s were very heady times on the Utah State University campus.

A local Yamaha dealer is providing two ATVs to Utah State University researchers to help study the interactions between sage grouse and motorized recreation.

The Great Salt Lake is roughly the same area as 75 Manhattans. It feeds and houses millions of birds of hundreds of species, provides the namesake of Utah’s capital city, and some credit it for the state’s trademarked claim to “the greatest snow on earth”...

Read a roundup of the latest news and events from the Quinney College of Natural Resources.

Read a roundup of the latest news and events from the Quinney College of Natural Resources.