Dear ,

Seasons greetings from NRCC! This past year has been a busy one, and we are excited to share a small sample of our ongoing projects from our research associates in the field. Please click on the links to read more about each project. Click here to here to check out our growing list of publications, and visit our webpage to read more and find out how you can help support our work! 

Wishing you Happy Holidays and prosperous New Year!

Sincerely, Jason Wilmot, Executive Director

People and Carnivores, a project of NRCC, is pioneering new and productive ways to minimize conflict between carnivores and people. We look forward to accelerating these successes and expanding the geographic reach of this work.

In 2012, People and Carnivores launched their new website and Facebook page, in addition to continuing great work finding solutions that work for people and wildlife. This work included partnering with the Blackfoot Challenge to complete the fourth Livestock and Wolf Monitoring season in the Blackfoot Valley, teaming up with local organizations and businesses to construct an electric fence to protect the Ovando Transfer Site from bears, the construction of three new bear poles. Check out the below narrative about grizzly bear conflict prevention from P&C Field Director and NRCC Research Associate, Steve Primm:

"As we crossed a basin high in Wyoming’s Shoshone National Forest, Scott leaned over in the saddle to look at the trail dust. The print aside the horse’s hooves resembled the track of a barefoot child, but for the pointy heel impression. That marked the hind track of a grizzly cub. A few paces ahead were Mama Bear’s tracks, on top of our inbound tracks. After several seasons in the grizzly-rich Absaroka Range, the drill felt familiar: a modest jolt of adrenaline; a sharp increase in focus, and a reassuring pat on the bear spray." 

Read more.

In 2012 we entered our 7th consecutive year of the collaborative effort to monitor amphibians in the Greater Yellowstone Area. Click below to read NRCC Research Associate Deb Patla's news from the field.

Read more.

Wolverines are garnering more and more public interest as citizens and land management agencies are becoming attuned to the conservation status and needs of this rare species. In a recent development, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be releasing a decision on whether wolverines should be listed under the Endangered Species Act by January 18, 2013. This decision will come just over two years after the December 2010 decision that wolverines were warranted for but precluded from listing.

Read more of this update from Jason Wilmot.

Research Associates are the heart of NRCC, and our roster has grown to include 33 professionals. These bright minds represent projects across a broad spectrum of interests in the Northern Rockies and around the globe. This past year, NRCC accepted five outstanding new researchers, all of whom are leading innovative research developments in their fields. We are very excited to be working with these five individuals by enabling their projects and serving as a networking hub for high-caliber professionals.

Nina Chambers - Science communication specialist and large landscape conservationist

Ben Chemel - Monitoring climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems with the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)

Arthur Middleton - Postdoctoral Associate at Yale University on the ecology of a high Andean food web in Argentina, where pumas and condors interact strongly with native camelids.

Clay Nielsen - Associate Professor of Forest Wildlife at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC); studying cougars in North America, maned wolves in Paraguay, jaguars in Panama, and tigers in India

Taza Schaming - Cornell University Ph.D. candidate studying the ecology of Clark's Nutcrackers in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

• Generating reliable ecological information
• Bridging science & policy for durable solutions
• Building trust & facilitating dialogue among diverse interests
• Creating learning networks for conservation practitioners
• Developing leadership & analytical skills
• Fostering creative & interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving

We are happy to hear your comments or share more information about NRCC - feel free to contact us!

Email: nrcc@nrccooperative.org

Phone: (307) 733-6856

Fax: (307) 733-6574

www.nrccooperative.org