Wildland Resources
USU Eastern Faculty, Students Participate in Deer Collaring Study for Wildlife Management
Led by Dr. Sunshine Brosi and the Utah DWR, the students receive hands-on training while helping to study, manage, and conserve mule deer.
Managing in Minnesota: USU Grad Finds Forestry Career in the Land of 10,000 Lakes
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.
USU studies how better diets and less gassy cows can help with climate change
Dr. Juan Villalba is featured on KSL News to discuss the role of high quality nutrition for cows in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
Mountain lion encounters are rare, but if you encounter one, here are 5 ways to stay safe
Dr. Julie Young has some tips for being in cougar country and what to do should you have the rare experience of a mountain lion encounter.
Big News about Big Trees: QCNR Researcher Featured on NPR's Science Friday
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.
New USU Institute Releases Inaugural Report on Natural Resources in Utah
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 Winter 2021 WILD Alumni Newsletter is Here!
The newsletter features stories, highlights, and accomplishments from the Department of Wildland Resources and our amazing alumni.
Human–Wildlife Interactions Journal Sees 200% Increase in Impact Factor
Impact factor shows the importance of a journal based on the number of times it is cited. Edited by Dr. Terry Messmer and Rosanna Vail, it is the only journal tailored to NR managers in areas of human-wildlife conflict.
Book 'Yellowstone Wolves' Receives Prestigious Wildlife Society Award
The award-winning book "Yellowstone Wolves" was written by the people who prepared and performed reintroduction and spent 25 years researching and managing wolves.
Students Receive Valuable Hands-on Education Thanks to CARES Act Funding
Fieldwork, an essential part of education in the Quinney College of Natural Resources, was put on hold because of the pandemic. Students in WILD were able to make up for some of that this past summer along the Colorado River.
USU Range Club Wins Second Place in Regional Team Competition
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...
David Stoner Awarded Grant to Connect Animal Migration to NASA Drought Imagery
The team of researchers will use satellite data taken from the International Space Station to study how far ranging populations of wildlife react to a changing environment.
QNCR Represented in New Publication: A Decade of Science Support in the Sagebrush Biome
QNCR is well represented in a new report summarizing more than a decade of science from Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW).
Catching Fire: USU Graduate Recognizes Ecosystem Details as Wildland Firefighter
Recent WILD graduate in Forest Ecology and Management Elyse Doty sees the forest for the trees when it comes to wildfire.
Capturing a True Picture of Wolves in Yellowstone: Reevaluating Aspen Recovery
What are the effects of wolves on aspen regeneration in Yellowstone? Thanks to refined sampling methods, Elaine Brice and Dr. Dan MacNulty show that previous findings have been exaggerated.
Busting Bison Myths: Wildlife Society Assists with Education at Annual Bison Roundup
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...
USU's Chris Luecke to Leave Post as Natural Resources Dean
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.
Call for 2022 Quinney Doctoral Fellowship in the Wildland Resources Department
The purpose of this Fellowship is to recruit a new student into WILD who has (1) a record of exceptional academic excellence, achievement, and promise, and (2) a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in WILD, QCNR, USU, and their profession.
Beef Going Green: Major New Grant Supports Strategies for Sustainable Grazing
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.
A Bear Cub Gets A Helping Hand
Thanks to a partnership between Utah State University, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and the USDA Millville Predator Research Facility, orphaned black bear cubs are getting a new lease on life.
An Education for All - Quishema Brown
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...
Ask an Expert - Tips for Living in Cougar Country in 2021
Dr. Terry Messmer explains how to prevent conflicts with mountain lions and what to do if you encounter one.
Teaching to the Top: USU Extension Specialists Hit the Road with Visiting Congressional Staff
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.
Bear Cub Rehabilitation - Live Video Feed
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.
Evaluating the Needs of Breeding Grebes in Utah
The Wildlife Society covers WILD alum Leah Delahoussaye's work on the breeding habits of eared grebes in the Great Salt Lake, information that is critical to conservation efforts in the southern portion of the bird's range.
Hidden Allies Aid Survival of the West's Largest Trees
PhD student Sara Germain and Dr. Jim Lutz study the pivotal relationship between large trees and underground fungi.
The Beavers Returning to the Desert
One small, plucky animal has an outsized ability to transform its environment, helping to replenish river ecosystems even in the desert. BBC News.
The Beavers Returning to the Desert
In 2019 and 2020, grad student Emma Doden and her colleagues gave 47 nuisance beavers a second chance by translocating them to Utah desert waterways. Their success has the potential to reshape riparian and aquatic ecosystems in this harsh environment.
In Focus Discussion: Wildfire Mitigation
Dr. Jim Lutz is on ABC4 Utah's In Focus to discuss wildfire, its place on the landscape, and how best to manage our wildlands.
Keep Your Friends Close: Biodiversity Benefits Plants through Soil Feedbacks
The research team determined that soil from biodiverse communities helped to reduce plant pathogens, and boosted plant growth.
Landscape Now to Help Prevent Wildfire Destruction Later
Whether you have a home within the wildland-urban interface where cities and towns transition into wilderness, or property that lies within the backcountry itself, Dr. Michael Kuhns has some tips to help protect your property from wildfire.
Coexisting with Wildlife During a Drought
Dr. Terry Messmer has some helpful tips for home/landowners on how to prevent conflict with wildlife during this time of extraordinary drought.
RSVP for "Fire in the West: Appreciating the Inevitable," a presentation and Q & A by Dr. Larissa Yocom
Adjusting our perception of fire as a natural and necessary tool rather than purely as a threat can help us better manage our landscapes and future fires. Tuesday, June 22 @ 11:30am
Safe Crossings: Wildlife Overpasses Connect Habitat and Save Lives
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.
UtahView is Selected by the Davis Arts Council to Display the Utah As Art Map Collection at the Snow Horse Art Gallery in the Davis Conference Center
Led by Dr. Doug Ramsey and Ellie Leydsman McGinty, satellite imagery captured by Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2A were expertly enhanced by Ellie to promote the beauty of Utah, and to foster discussion and understanding of geography and Earth science.
How Do Animals Safely Cross a Highway? Take a Look.
Dr. Nicki Frey is featured in The New York Times, along with some fantastic video documentation of wildlife using these crossings, including the I-80 wildlife overpass near Park City, the subject of some of Dr. Frey's research.
Dr. Larissa Yocom is Featured on the Instead Podcast to Talk About Wildfire
Dr. Yocom covers the the history of wildfire, fire as a force of nature, and how forest and range managers can utilize prescribed fire and mechanical treatments.
Indigenous People in Utah Engaged in Cultural Burning of Forests 1100 Years Ago
New research has found that the Fremont people, an indigenous group of farmers, actively managed the forests of the Fish Lake Plateau in central Utah using fire.
WILD Research Professor Emerita Leila Shultz Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award
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.
WILD is Hiring For a Full-Time 9-month Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Position in Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology
Research areas of interest to the Department include, but are not limited to carbon cycling, biogeochemistry, ecosystem modeling, disturbance and land cover shifts.
Dr. Doug Ramsey and America View Develop a Fantastic Resource For Those Interested in Remote Sensing
The 3-part video series details how to utilize U.S. Landsat Analysis Ready Data, a product that means researchers spend less time processing and more time analyzing valuable information.
Are Large Predators Becoming More Prevalent In Utah's Residential Areas?
Dr. Mark Chynoweth is featured on KCPW's program This Green Earth to discuss human-wildlife coexistence.
Grad Student Kristin Engebretsen is Recipient of Best Student Presentation Award at UT The Wildlife Society Meeting
She is also the lead author on a brand new paper in the journal Ecology and Evolution on the effects of black bears on the foraging behavior of cougars.
WILD's Simona Picardi Wins Sage Grouse Presentation Award
Congratulations to WILD postdoctoral fellow Simona Picardi who won the Best Professional Presentation Award at the Utah Chapter of the Wildlife Society's annual meeting.
WILD Grad Student Emma Doden Wins Prestigious Robins Award
Emma Doden is this year’s recipient of the Master Student Researcher of the Year award at the 2021 USU Robins Awards for her working translocating and studying beavers.
David Stoner Cougar Presentation
Mark your calendars and preregister for a presentation by WILD's David Stoner on cougar response to urban expansion: Tuesday, April 20 at 6pm.
WILD’s Nicki Frey Selected as Wildlife Society Fellow
Dr. Frey was selected for this honor based on her significant contributions to wildlife resources.
WILD Faculty and Grad Students Publish Research on Wild Horses and Burros
Data compiled by these researchers will be a critical resource for both federal and local government agencies for years to come.
QCNR 2021 Awards Recipients
Congratulations to all the recipients of S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources (QCNR) Awards for 2021!
WILD PhD Student wins NSF Award
Congratulations to USU WILD PhD student Soren Struckman on his award of a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship!
QCNR 2021 Spring News Roundup
Catch up with what our faculty and staff have been doing at the Quinney College of Natural Resources over the past 6 months.
Mammals of Cedar Breaks National Monument
Mammals of Cedar Breaks National Monument is a very accessible guide based on surveys conducted from 2017 to 2019, led by Dr. Nicole Frey and involving WILD undergraduate students and National Park Service biologists.
Shrub Management Handbook
The Shrub Management Handbook for Utah Rangelands, co-authored by three WILD faculty members, a former WILD graduate student, and a USDA ecologist, was recently released and is available online.
Wild and Wool
Featuring Dr. Kezia Manlove. Wild and Wool addresses domestic sheep grazing on public land was an integral part of settling the western United States. However, as conservation efforts ramp to rebound bighorn populations, the wool industry, scientific comm...
'Wildfires In The West' With Paul Rogers And Larissa Yocom On Wednesday's Access Utah
Listen to the UPR interview with Larissa Yocom and Paul Rogers concerning wildfires in the west.
USU Recognized for Best Undergraduate Research Program in Nation
Utah State University has been announced as the recipient of the 2020 Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments (AURA), recognizing USU as a national leader in undergraduate programs for research and creative inquiry. The award will be presented by...
Mapping Landsat's Long History
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.
Martyn Mathews Caldwell, 1941 - 2021
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.
Celebrating the History of Women in the QCNR
This video, created by undergraduate students in our college, takes a look into the history of women in the Quinney College of Natural Resources.
Forest Ecology and Management degree is accredited for another 10 years
Today, Dec. 17th, our Forest Ecology and Management degree was accredited for another 10 years by the Society of American Foresters (SAF)
Monarch Butterflies On 'Wild About Utah'
Monarch butterflies are facing a dire situation across the country, with their numbers plummeting dangerously close to extinction levels. Two major populations occupy North America—the Eastern and Western population—that carry with them the innate behavio...
Climate Change, Criollo and the Colorado Plateau: Is an old Breed the Future for Cattle Ranching?
The Colorado Plateau, located in the western United States, is known for its stunning landscapes and wild-west ambiance. The cowboy lifestyle is still very much a part of the landscape with over 90% of the region being utilized by the cattle industry. Cli...
Biochar: Can it Help Fight Climate Change While Improving Soil Health?
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...
Fall Semester WILD Alumni and Friends Newsletter 2020
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.
And now for something completely different….
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...
Light pollution alters predator-prey interactions between cougars and mule deer in western US
A new study by authors including WILD faculty David Stoner, Terry Messmer, and UDWR personnel Kent Hersey and Dan Olson provides strong evidence that exposure to light pollution alters predator-prey dynamics between mule deer and cougars across the interm...
USU Research Looking At The Root Of Plant-soil Interactions
To improve restoration and agricultural practices, USU scientists are studying how soil microbes and moisture affect native and nonnative plants.
Warming Climate is Changing Where Birds Breed
Spring is in full swing. Trees are leafing out, flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing, and birds are singing. But a recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that those birds in your backyard may be changing right al...
As Interest in Local Food Grows, Water Pollution Shouldn't
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...
