Current Projects
Social Tolerance of Wolves in MT
The Lab is partnering with the 猎奇重口 Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to understand social tolerance of wolves in 猎奇重口. Using a series of mail surveys to stakeholders across the state, we seek novel measures of tolerance which better inform management. Coupling these measures with past survey efforts will give us the first insights into how tolerance has changed over time since recolonization, reintroduction, and legal hunting was reinstated. Additionally, we seek to understand public perceptions of wolf management and whether or not different stakeholders understand and approve or disapprove of current agency approaches.
Human Dimensions of Grizzly Bear Recovery
This is a collaborative project between the 猎奇重口 Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit (MTCWRU website) and the Human Dimensions Lab (HDL website) at the 猎奇重口 investigating the human dimensions of grizzly bear recovery. Grizzly bears were formerly numerous and widespread in North America but have been extirpated across 98% of their former range in the conterminous US. Today, four populations occur in the US Northern Rocky Mountains, and an additional recovery zone exists nearby in the Bitterroot Ecosystem of west-central 猎奇重口 and east-central Idaho. The MTCWRU recently published studies of habitat use and connectivity pathways for grizzly bears, and the HDL recently published results of an intensive survey effort about attitudes of 猎奇重口ns towards grizzlies. Efforts are ongoing by various agencies, non-profits, and private citizens to help enhance the odds that grizzlies can naturally recolonize their former range in the Bitterroot Mountains. However, much remains unknown about how to successfully influence human actions to achieve better conservation outcomes for grizzly bears and people. This project focuses on these human dimensions of grizzly bear recovery in the US Northern Rockies, with a focus on communities near the Bitterroot Ecosystem.
SMART FIRES
Sensors, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence in Real Time Fire Science () is a NSF-funded partnership among , 猎奇重口, , , and . The vision of this partnership is to expand jurisdictional research capacity in order to address knowledge gaps associated with prescribed fire usage and to understand prescribed fire’s impact on individuals and communities. In this context, prescribed fire describes the controlled application of fire to restore health to ecosystems that depend on fire. Prescribed fire is used increasingly to mitigate severe wildfire risk in the Western U.S. SMART FIRES is guided by two foundational questions: 1) How do prescribed fire energy and emissions depend on fuel properties, topography, and environmental conditions? and 2) How do the smoke emissions from prescribed fire affect individuals and communities?” Answering these questions requires a new generation of smart optical sensors that couple emerging engineering technologies with advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). SMART FIRES will build infrastructure capable of nimbly deploying these new instruments to measure prescribed fire behavior in real time. SMART FIRES researchers will develop novel methods to assess and communicate the benefits and risks of prescribed fire to the public. By leveraging jurisdiction-wide research and pedagogical expertise, SMART FIRES will catalyze research capability through strategic hires and integration across disciplines and institutions. By providing vigorous, interdisciplinary training and inclusive STEM pathways for participants, SMART FIRES will develop a strong workforce in the fields of ecosystem management, optical engineering, AI/ML, environmental chemistry, and social science.
Social Identity and Wildlife Conservation
People’s social identities can profoundly shape their cognitions and behaviors in a variety of settings, but how these forces manifest with respect to wildlife conservation has been underexplored. In this collaborative project, we are partnering with Dr. Justin Angle of UM’s College of Business to understand how and when social identity activation can shift people’s attitudes toward wildlife, perceptions of other people in conservation contexts, and ultimately influence their support of wildlife policy and participation in wildlife conservation actions.
Public Trust Wildlife Ownership
Wildlife habitat in the U.S. is dominated by private ownership, complicating management of wildlife which are legally held in the public trust. Under this configuration of public wildlife on private lands, the rights and interests of private landowners can be at odds with those of trust beneficiaries (i.e., the public). Recent wildlife conservation scholarship has better incorporated private landownership into analyses and discussion, but limited data accessibility and analysis tools have thus far precluded a comprehensive assessment of landownership patterns and trends. This project seeks to develop methods to analyze spatially-explicit cadastral data, generate baseline and trend data on private landownership characteristics, and explore the implications of these ownership patterns for fulfillment of the wildlife public trust doctrine.