Wildlife Management & Conservation
Private land management provides a number of public benefits, including the stewardship of our nation’s wildlife resources. Managers must have reliable information that enables decision-making and informs how land and livestock management interact with wildlife populations in these complex ecosystems.
Wildlife Monitoring
You can’t manage what you can’t measure, and our wildlife monitoring projects primarily help us document trends and dynamics of wildlife populations over time and in response to environmental variables and management actions. We conduct annual surveys of economically impactful species (large mammals and quail) as well as ecologically important populations of birds and small mammals. Along with yearly measures, we work to develop improved methods of measuring wildlife populations at scale to inform management over time more effectively.
Game Species Management
Game animals are important ecologically, economically, and culturally. Decisions about harvest pressure and habitat management, along with variables outside of management control like weather and disease presence, interact to drive the dynamics of wildlife populations. We study these factors at a landscape scale to develop strategies that ensure the long-term sustainability of these populations.
Endangered Species Management
Privately owned working lands are the most important reservoirs for the remaining populations of most endangered species. The management of these species is complex, and while documenting the life history and population dynamics of species present on our land, we also work to develop informed strategies to ensure their persistence and recovery on a working landscape.
Because policy decisions impact these species along with management decisions, we also develop and discover innovative approaches that can improve the implementation of solutions to these complex problems.