QCNR News

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...

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

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. Some of the dust carries toxic pollutants composed of heavy metals and syn...

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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....

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...

During a recent career fair, students from the Quinney College of Natural Resources connected with management agencies and organizations to participate in summer internships, experiences designed to build professional skills, help students to gain practic...

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.

USU has made great strides toward the goal of net neutrality over the past few years. A notable accomplishment toward USU carbon neutrality was the installation of a 158-kilowatt solar panel array, mounted atop the Gateway Parking Terrace.

The iconic Great Salt Lake is in serious trouble, and lawmakers are noticing. Water levels in the lake have reached record lows. The first Great Salt Lake Summit happened this month, inviting experts from around the country, including researchers from USU...

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.

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.

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

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...

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

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.

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.

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...

Hope Braithwaite organized the Utah State University Water Quality Extension event, “Pack It Out Utah” which ended on Sunday. It was the second statewide trails and waterways volunteer cleanup event, bringing together volunteers from across the state to r...

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...

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.

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.” Authors said the planet is ...

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 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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

Sarah Null knows that there’s a lot more in a river than just water. 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 accessibl...

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...

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.

As winter 2021 in Utah continues to provide much-needed late winter snowfall, hydrologists say the state currently sits at 80% of normal snowpack. And researchers at Utah State University are already looking ahead to fire season by investigating how wildf...

The new publication builds upon a 2020 white paper, “Strategies for Managing the Colorado River in an Uncertain Future.” Wheeler et. al ran scenarios for various planning strategies on one of the most managed rivers in the world, the Colorado, to better u...

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.

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

As carbon dioxide levels in the Earth’s atmosphere increase, the battle against climate change worsens. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps and radiates heat. Capturing carbon, or carbon sequestration, is a natural or artificial process that all...

A developer eyeing Bridal Veil Falls for a new tram and private drug rehab lodge says he wants to make the iconic Utah County site more accessible to the public, with a “reasonable” fee. But those who research outdoor recreation have found any fee, no mat...

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. For Utah State University Environment and Society doctoral student Iree Wheeler, it was something she worked...

Mark Kreider is a MS student in Ecology, advised by Dr. Larissa Yocom. Many of us know Mark for his research on post-fire forest regeneration ecology, including a recent paper on the identification of aspen seedlings in the field. But it turns out that M...

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

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

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.

The year 2020 has changed how so much of the world is delivered, including the delivery of recognitions and awards. Joseph Wheaton, associate professor from the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources Watershed Sciences Department at Utah St...

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

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. Now, over 150 years after the Bear River Massacr...

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.

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.

One million years ago, the extinction of large-bodied plant-eaters changed the trajectory of life on Earth. The disappearance of these large herbivores reshaped plant life, altered fire regimes across Earth’s landscapes, and modified biogeochemical cyclin...

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?

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

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.”

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. While this is a great opportunity to become sustainable, it should not happen at the cost of Uta...

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. Local action can inspire other communities to adopt policies, creating the p...

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. It is pulled from these natural stockpiles when plants decay, when humans burn coal for energy, when wildfires...

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.

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.

This past August, the Utah State University Backcountry Hunters and Anglers along with Cache Anglers Trout Unlimited Chapter assisted Clint Brunson of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in electrofishing Temple Fork and Spawn Creek documenting non-na...

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.“I’m a Fisheries student at the Utah State Un...

First-graders know that seedlings need three things to grow – sunlight, water and soil. They are right – plants do need soil – but soils also react to plant growth. As plants develop, they alter the chemistry, bacteria and microscopic flora that make up a...

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.

Back in the day, land managers kept tabs on an area by setting out on foot, traversing networks of trails and observing conditions. If spring flooding washed away a campsite, or if meandering hikers flattened a new trail through a soft meadow, it might be...

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

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.

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

It was one of the several questions posed at Utah State University’s Research Landscapes series focused on Utah's waterscapes. The event Tuesday at the O.C. Tanner headquarters in Salt Lake City attracted a mix of state and local government officials, bus...

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 for her poster, “P...

When one considers the historic 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 d...

Utah State University Honors students and Undergraduate Research Fellows Bryce Frederickson and Ethan Hammer were named 2019 Goldwater Scholars in a prestigious national competition that recognizes outstanding achievements in science and mathematics.

Imagine the future of the Colorado River and the numerous communities it supports. Can we balance water supply, hydropower demands and environmental health? On Saturday, Oct. 13, experts from across the West gathered in Moab to discuss that question. R

Joel Charles, a student at Utah State University Blanding, has been awarded the Berryman Institute scholarship and will participate in the institute’s summer internship program this summer.

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

In 2012 there were no Bonneville cutthroat trout in the Right Hand Fork of the Logan River. A recent survey of the tributary has revealed the native fish is flourishing. - Harold Journal

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

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.

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

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

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