2020 Cooperative Research Units Program Year in Review
U.S. Geological Survey
Our graduate students are the future conservation workforce
40 Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units located on university campuses in 38 States.
USGS Circular 1478
"Our intellectual curiosity, outstanding critical thinking, dedication to learning and growth, and, most importantly, our commitment to collaborative problem-solving with our friends and partners – truly makes our program a success." Jonathan Mawdsley
Program at a Glance
Research projects support graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.
Unit scientists hold faculty rank at their host university, teach graduate-level courses, and conduct research on a wide variety of fish and wildlife issues.
USGS employees in the CRUs work with State fish and wildlife agencies and Federal natural resource agencies.
Each unit is staffed by 2 to 5 Federal USGS research scientists.
Graduate Students
Amelia Duvall, Washington Unit, doctoral research project includes seabird population modeling and assesses anthropogenic threats at Channel Islands National Park.
Ryan Gary, Oklahoma Unit, is mapping reservoir tributaries and quantifying the amount of suitable spawning substrates to help predict the potential success and efficacy of stocking efforts for establishing self-sustaining populations of paddlefish.
Emma Doden, Utah Unit, is a second-year graduate student evaluating the efficacy of translocating beavers to desert restoration sites.
Ben Luukkonen, Iowa Unit, is marking geese with global positioning system transmitters and analyzing banding data to learn what role waterfowl hunters can play to help reduce increasing human-goose conflicts.
Josh Blouin, Vermont Unit, is assessing moose habitat suitability in Vermont and how seasonal habitat selection relates to population health.
Lucas Schilder, Texas Unit, is focused on quantifying changes in avian and plant community composition and structure following prescribed thinning of pinyon-juniper woodlands
“We consider the West Virginia Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit to be an invaluable conservation partner here in West Virginia and throughout the Nation. They consistently deliver sound scientific research, produce high quality graduate students, provide outstanding technical expertise, and effectively collaborate with us on a wide variety of fish and wildlife management projects. This strong partnership between our agency and the West Virginia Unit has afforded us the opportunity to move the conservation needle in a very positive direction.” —Paul R. Johansen, Chief, Wildlife Resources Section, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources.
Applied Research
Research conducted by unit scientists addresses the broad themes that are important to both State and Federal cooperators. The CRU program is in the forefront of fish and wildlife research that can provide objective science for the management needs of cooperators and inform decision making
Snapshot USA
Collaborators from all 50 States will contribute camera trap data from a standardized camera trap array, and the Smithsonian Institution will lead efforts to analyze data to inform managers about mammals. Image credit: Snapshot USA.
Minnesota Residents’ Attitudes Toward Wolves
Understanding the values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors of stakeholders can enhance the efficacy of agency decisions with respect to wolf management. Image credit: Arthur Middleton, University of Wyoming, USGS. Public domain.
Bats in Fire-Prone Landscapes
This research identified relationships between fire, forest structure, and bats, to inform forest management in a fire-prone landscape.
Changing Fish Communities in the Penobscot RiverAfter Dam Removal
In Maine, the Penobscot River Restoration Project removed the two lowermost dams on the river and improved fish passage at other dams to help recover declining sea-run fishes and increase resilience of entire ecosystems.
Technical Assistance
Scientists and graduate students use their expertise in natural resource management, experimental design, data analysis, and leadership to provide assistance to partners and cooperators on a variety of issues and projects.
Red Wolf
The Arizona Unit participated in the Nonindigenous National Aquatic Academy of Sciences review of taxonomy for the red wolf. Image credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Colorado Streams and Rivers
The Colorado Unit partnered with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on ongoing management and implementation of temperature standards in Colorado streams and rivers.
Eastern Oysters and Submerged Aquatic Vegetation
The Louisiana Unit represented the Department of the Interior on the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group’s development of Special Monitoring of Applied Response Technologies objectives for the use of Natural Resource Damage Assessment restoration funding for submerged aquatic vegetation and oyster resources.
Creel Surveys
The Nebraska Unit codeveloped and coinstructed an 8-hour workshop entitled "Creel Surveys: Designing Complex Solutions to Simple Questions" that was sponsored by Catfish 2020. Image credit: Catfish 2020.
Hunter Education
The South Dakota Unit helped South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks conduct a workshop for college students interested in learning about hunting.
Beluga Whale
The Washington Unit cofacilitated the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Population Analysis and Monitoring information session at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium. Image credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Lake Sturgeon
The Wisconsin Fishery Unit provided training to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources personnel on how to implant acoustic transmitters into lake sturgeon.
Chronic Wasting Disease
The Wisconsin Wildlife Unit developed a model to understand spatiotemporal patterns in chronic wasting disease (CWD) to State natural resource managers regarding deer population dynamics in the CWD-endemic region of southwestern Wisconsin. Image credit: Credit: Terry Kreeger, Wyoming Game and Fish and Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accessiblity
Our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility team makes recommendations to promote diversity in hiring and workplace inclusivity. We make recommendations for developing a mentorship program for early career scientists and developing hiring and retention strategies to promote a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce.
Keara Clancy is an alumna of the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program. She graduated cum laude from the University of Florida’s Wildlife Ecology and Conservation program in May 2020 and, in August she began pursuing her master’s degree, also through the University of Florida.
Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program
Each year, graduate students mentor undergraduates from the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program who have a passion for fish and wildlife conservation and for increasing diversity in the conservation field. CRU faculty, graduate students and agency partners provide unique opportunities for these young motivated scholars to gain valuable field experience by contributing to conservation projects, conducting independent research, and presenting scientific data to varied audiences. This two-year experiential training program empowers future conservation leaders, fosters professional development, and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion in the fish and wildlife sciences.
Kassandra Townsend, a member of the Acoma Pueblo Tribe, is an Ecology and Conservation Biology major at the University of Idaho College of Natural Resources. Through the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program, Kassandra gained real-world employment experience in natural resources while balancing rigorous coursework at school and making contributions to her community. Image taken in 2019.
Christopher Jenney (second from left) is a master of science degree student at the Arizona Unit at the University of Arizona and a graduate mentor for the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program. Prior to his time at the University of Arizona, he worked with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and completed his undergraduate degree at Oregon State University. Christopher’s research is focused on assessing native and nonnative fish habitat use on two “wild and scenic” rivers of central Arizona.
Stories from the Field
The cooperator success stories that follow were supplied by members of State fish and wildlife agencies or universities.
The Wyoming Unit is conducting an extensive mark-recapture project to examine how the chytrid fungus influences population dynamics of boreal toads, such as annual survival and recruitment rates. Results of these studies will be used by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and other management agencies working to protect boreal toad populations. Dr. Wendy Estes-Zumpf, Herpetological Coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
The Texas Unit has partnered with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Big Bend Ranch State and National Parks, and private conservation entities to assess the abundance, habitat characteristics, productivity, and community structure of these species in riparian zones of the Trans- Pecos region of Texas. Researchers anticipate that the results will provide the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department with data to make informed decisions for status assessment updates and identification of priority areas for conservation and restoration of these State-threatened species (common black hawk, the gray hawk and the zone-tailed hawk). Russell Martin, Wildlife Diversity Biologist, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Canyon, Texas.
During the past 10+ years, the South Carolina Unit has been collaborating with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as well as with other State, Federal, and international agencies, to enhance understanding of the daily and annual movement patterns of seabirds. Information learned from these studies are is being used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other resource management decision-makers that to inform actions, such as management of marine and terrestrial systems, to provide key science information in species status assessments, and to underpin science critical to oil spill planning and response. William B. Uihlein, III PhD, Assistant Regional Director, Science Applications and Migratory Birds, South Atlantic-Gulf & Mississippi -Basin, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
