celebrating natural resources | winter 2015-2016

COLLEGE OF NATURAL RESOURCES | 1INNOVATIVE RESEARCH | INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE | PRACTICAL APPLICATION | CAREER EXPOSURE

UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO COLLEGE OF NATURAL RESOURCES MAGAZINE WINTER 2015 - 16 | VOL. 32 edition

RESOURCES

Students Lead CNR Success

CELEBRATING

2 | WINTER 2015 - 16

16 FEATUREUndergrad’s Path Sways with

Idaho’s Grasses Nontraditional Student Travels Idaho

as He Builds His Graduate Project

All eyes are focused on the future at CNR. Our legacy of success inspires our students

and provides our partners the guarantee that collaboration means even better

leadership and management of our natural resources.

WINTER 2015 - 16

Volume 32

RESOURCES

8 FEATUREStudent Finds Serenity in the

Intensity of Idaho’s Back Country Chicago-Area Native Sarah Rose

Enjoys Country Living

CELEBRATING

COLLEGE OF NATURAL RESOURCES | 3

FEATURE 18Idaho Double Teams African Park Rehabilitation Ryan Long Partners with Philanthropist, Mentors Undergraduate

FEATURE 26Couple Sails Through Grad School

Hydrologist Zion Klos Leads Atlantic Voyage for Research and Outreach

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

10 Innovative Research Boosts Grad Into NASA’s Orbit

12 Research Experience Changes Undergrad’s Path

14 Young Researcher Finds Home in UI Labs

22 Forestry Alumnus Lives Life as it Happens

28 Living in Sync with the Trees

On the Cover: Undergraduate Sarah Rose enjoys the slow pace of Idaho’s back country. Read about her experiences at UI on page 8. Photo by Joe Pallen

TABLE OF CONTENTS |

4 | WINTER 2015 - 16

Magazine StaffThe College of Natural Resources magazine is published annually for alumni and friends of CNR. Subscription is free. The magazine also is available online in its entirety on the college’s website, www.uidaho.edu/cnr.

Kurt Pregitzer, deanJodi Walker, editor/writerSteven Hacker, associate dean for outreachVincent Corrao, Advisory Board chair

CNR Alumni NewsUniversity of Idaho875 Perimeter Drive MS 1142Moscow, ID 83844-1142Email: [email protected]

Design - Beth Case, UI Creative Services

Photography - UI Photo Services

growingCNR students, from left,

Tanya Herrera, Lance Johnson and Katie Gregory enjoy

hands-on field campuses like the UI Experimental Forest.

Photo by Joe Pallen


successDear CNR Colleagues and Friends:

The College of Natural Resources is on top. Named No. 1 in value and No. 5 in quality by USA Today quantifies what we already know: our college produces high-level graduates using world-renowned faculty and the best natural classrooms Idaho has to offer.

Our students are leaders. Our CNR student body includes a Goldwater Scholar and both the master’s and doctoral UI Outstanding Research Award winners for 2015. We also have first-gen-eration, multicultural and underserved students. Our mix of students brings together fresh ideas and youthful enthusiasm with our historically proven natural resource science. Our enrollment is up, our programs are strong and our message is being heard.

We are pleased to grow our faculty with talented educators and researchers. As we look ahead to rounding out our course offerings and bolstering our research capabilities, there is no doubt the College of Natural Resources is on the radar of up-and-coming faculty nationwide.

As we complete the first full year of the Environmental Science program’s inclusion under our administrative umbrella, we know that this move benefits our students, who have the amazing resources and support of the CNR team. It has also given us the opportunity to realign our three departments to better serve students, faculty and stakeholders. Because so much of what we do is interdisciplinary and collaborative, several of our faculty members have branched out to other departments to create three well-sourced and impactful departments: Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences; Fish and Wildlife Sciences; and Natural Resources and Society.

Our highly engaged advisory board entertained the president and the provost in the second annual industry tour last summer. Introducing University of Idaho’s leadership to one of Idaho’s biggest industries is vital not only to our success but to the future of Idaho’s economy.

The advisory board’s recommendation to connect industry leaders with program faculty to review our course offerings and outcomes has resulted in two successful program reviews and beneficial recommendations leading to program enhancement. Our students will be even better prepared for the workforce thanks to the dedicated work of the board.

The commitment to our field campuses is proven across the state. The Tom and Teita Reveley Facility at the Frank Pitkin Nursery swarms with activity—from forest nursery sales to educational and training space to hosting events. The Taylor Wilderness Research Station headed into winter with a new structure, built with industry support. And the McCall Field Campus will be the focus of new shower and restroom facilities in 2016.

But it is our students who live the story that is CNR. They represent the future of natural resource management. Each individual effort blends to make the University of Idaho, College of Natural Resources the Best in the West.

Best wishes,

DEAN’S LETTER |

growing

6 | WINTER 2015 - 16

| LETTER FROM THE CNR ADVISORY BOARD

As the owner of a natural resource-based business, I have the privilege of hiring interns and graduates from the College of Natural Resources and I see daily the value and positive impact the college has on the lives of these young professionals. These values

and impacts are the intellectual tools needed to be productive, innovative and resourceful, while understanding the importance of good stewardship.

As I complete my second year as chairman of the CNR Advisory Board, I am proud of the influence our diverse CNR Advisory Board has had on curriculum. Together with industry, agencies, tribes and university leadership we have supported curriculum decisions as well as expanding internship and permanent employment opportunities. The CNR Advisory Board’s collaborative successes in bridging education and employment are focused on providing students the tools they need for managing our natural resources.

We continually analyze program value with college faculty and industry leaders, looking at successes and areas for improvement. We completed assessment of forest management and fire ecology and will continue to evaluate curriculum by department to provide an effective delivery framework that continues to add value and impact to CNR students.

The CNR Advisory Board worked with industry to facilitate two Idaho forest tours for UI leadership. First, the new Provost and Executive Vice President John Wiencek was taken on an aerial tour of Idaho’s vast forests and incredible landscapes. The second was an annual industry tour where President Chuck Staben and Provost Wiencek were taken through North Idaho’s forests and milling facilities at an on-the-ground level to discuss sustainable building materials and the resources within Idaho. The day included a tour of Lake Pend Oreille to see firsthand the fisheries and lake restoration projects CNR researchers are leading. Regional professionals from agencies and private industry attended to provide an insightful overview of resource management throughout North Idaho.

Idaho’s natural resources cannot simply be talked about. They have to be experienced. The aerial and Pend Oreille tours provided an opportunity to see Idaho’s vast resources and understand the complexities while sharing the exceptional quality of life Idaho has to offer to its students, residents and visitors.

University support of CNR and the natural resource industries of Idaho is vital to understanding what is needed for new graduates to be successful. The natural resource sector will see many opportunities for new graduates in the coming years. Many retirements are expected throughout our sector. We need to educate the next generation and encourage them to enroll in college, where there is great opportunity to succeed. But they can only succeed if they are enrolled. This is where the advisory board, industry friends and alumni can help by encouraging a young person to go on to college. Share your professional story and CNR’s involvement in your success with a high school student. Encourage our community college students to transfer into CNR’s quality programs. See page 38 to learn more about how alumni and friends can be involved in helping others experience UI and CNR.

Best regards,

Vincent Corrao


For more information on supporting students, contact:

Steven HackerCNR Assistant Dean for Outreach

(208) [email protected]

www.uidaho.edu/inspire

Excellence Fund

Support Student ExperienceCNR students are like a family. The tight-knit group shares a passion for the outdoors and our landscapes. The Welcome Back Barbecue each fall provides students that first look at what it means to be in CNR.

8 | WINTER 2015 - 16

| EXPERIENCING NATURE

Student finds Serenity

in the intensity of Idaho’s back country


As Sarah Rose watched the cabins at Taylor Wilder-ness Research Station shrink below the Cesena wings, her thoughts turned to how and when she could return to this educational sanctuary.

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, Rose visited the West twice, once on a family vacation through Bryce Canyon, Mesa Verde and Great Sand Dunes national parks, and the other with her scout troop to Rocky Mountain National Park. When she was named a National Merit Scholar in her senior year and the University of Idaho was an option, the intrigue of the West tugged hard. She began studying the list of participating schools like she was preparing for SATs.

While UI made her short list, her parents weren’t convinced heading two time zones away was the right choice. Her desires became the theme of a persuasive research paper (her mom is a geography teacher).

“I compiled facts to convince my parents,” she said. “I used Taylor as an example of field learning, and eventually convinced them that Idaho was the right choice.”

Little did she know that Taylor would envelope her in its charm and possibilities. It would become the site of her senior project for her ecology and conservation biology degree and home for nearly six months of her college career.

“It is also how I learned I could fit everything I need into a 15-gallon tote,” Sarah said.

As a member of the first cohort of students to enroll in Se-mester in the Wild, an immersive interdisciplinary educational experience held at Taylor Wilderness Research Station during the fall semester, Rose fully engaged in the experience.

“I slept in a tent just for the experience,” even though cabins were available. “It was so hands-on. I learned more than in a traditional classroom. The professors lived with us. The classes didn’t end when class let out.”

Without the distractions of modern technology and by shear location, they were fully engaged in learning.

“That was our life. Everyone did all the reading. Classroom conversation continued into the evenings.”

She often found herself standing in the open field with a cup of tea, savoring the sun as it shone in the river canyon.

The serenity of life at Taylor followed Sarah home.

“I’ve spent a lot of time trying to appreciate the little things.”

It also inspired her to return as a summer intern. Return she did and she used her interest in sustainable agriculture and background working at the Soil Stewards Farm, a UI club for organic farming and sustainable community food systems, to create a garden.

“I am grateful the college let me use my interest and back-ground and push the boundaries of a senior project to build the garden at Taylor.”

Not only did she build a garden, but she created it in the shape of the letters U and I. The garden now provides the majority of the fresh produce for Semester in the Wild as well as the sum-mer interns and visiting researchers.

Finishing her senior year and double major in ECB and range-land ecology and management this spring, Rose no doubt misses the solitude of Taylor. But she finds refuge at the Logger Sports arena, where she has practiced and competed with her peers since first arriving on campus.

“I had never chopped wood. I had never held an ax,” she said. Now she takes careful aim and launches full-sized axes toward wooden targets like she grew up hurtling sharp objects.

In four years, Rose has filled her 15-gallon tote with new expe-riences, a love of the West, a passion for working outdoors and a sense of serenity.

Sarah Rose designed, built and planted a garden at Taylor Wilderness Research Station while there as a summer intern. The garden is the topic of her senior project for her degree.

She tosses an ax, demonstrating the skills she has gained in the Logger Sports Club.

She was part of the first class of Semester in the Wild students. Here she takes the front seat on the fly-out from Taylor.

Photo by Joe Pallen

10 | WINTER 2015 - 16

| INNOVATIVE RESEARCH

Innovative Research Boosts Grad into NASA’s Orbit


As a natural resources doctoral student at the University of Idaho, Troy Magney helped create tools that measure and map plants’ responses to stress.

Now, he’s taking those skills to NASA.

“If we can develop technologies on the ground, they can be used in space,” says Magney, who received UI’s 2015 Outstanding Doctoral Student Research and Creative Activity Award for his work.

Magney, who received his degree last May and spent the summer finishing his projects on campus, recently began a position as a postdoctoral researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. There, he works with the Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite, or OCO-2, which gathers data about Earth’s carbon dioxide.

His research at UI prepared him well for this career move. Magney worked with a team led by profes-sors Lee Vierling and Jan Eitel of the College of Natural Resources’ Tom and Teita Reveley Geospa-tial Laboratory for Environmental Dynamics, help-ing to develop and test tools that measure plant photosynthesis. These remote-sensing technolo-gies don’t directly contact plants, but rather use measurements, such as sunlight reflection, to make estimates.

When plants are under stress — from lack of nutrients or available water, for instance — their ca-pacity for producing biomass from photosynthesis drops. Monitoring fluctuations allows users to map when and where stresses are occurring.

“These tools could, for example, be mounted on a tractor for a farmer who wants to monitor his or her field through space and time,” Magney said.

Magney said his work with the tools gave him an understanding of all the elements that go into remote sensing.

“That goes from making the instruments, to coding and computer programming, to practical applica-tions, to analysis and communication,” he said.

Vierling, praised him for his creativity, teamwork skills and ability to integrate the many aspects of his field.

“What makes Troy really strong is no matter what he’s doing, he’s good at it,” Eitel said. “He’s one of those people who’s very strong in a wide variety of things, ranging from data analysis to dealing with people.”

Vierling added, “Troy is tremendously creative. Not only is he an excellent problem-solver, but he has the ability to find those key research questions that haven’t yet been asked, and then go on to apply his findings in many ways.”

Magney was drawn to UI not only to learn these skills, but also to apply them to on-the-ground, interdisciplinary research projects.

On the Palouse, Magney spent five summers work-ing with the Site-Specific Climate-Friendly Farming project, a collaboration among Washington State University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and UI. Its goal is to better understand the variables that affect plant growth on a field-by-field level, then use that information to develop agricultural tools to help farmers precisely apply nutrients.

“We work with three growers on the Palouse. These growers can use some of the tools we developed for their fields,” Magney said. “The idea that they can save money and the environment and the qual-ity of their soil by mapping these patterns makes it easy to communicate the benefits to growers.”

Magney also spent two summers working in Alaska with researchers from UI and Columbia University to understand the effects of climate change on the Arctic ecosystem. His role was to use remote-sensing tools to map how plants are adapting to changes.

Both these projects challenged Magney to think about how his research will be used by people down the road.

“Theoretical science is a great and necessary thing, but it doesn’t do humanity any good until it’s applied,” he said.

– By Tara Roberts for the University of Idaho.

Photo by Joe Pallen

12 | WINTER 2015 - 16

| UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCES

Being in the College of Natural Resources is like living in a small town, with close friendships, lots of interaction and shared experiences.

“It seems like this college is way more interconnected than most,” said Keala Bush, who is from the Bitterroot Mountains of Western Montana. “I have friends in other colleges and they don’t know their classmates. Here, everyone in these majors is really friendly.”

Those relationships, coupled with scholarship opportunities, led Bush to change her major to fisheries science.

As a first-generation student, the financial burden of college weighed heavily into Bush’s decision of where to go to school. An in-state Montana school seemed like a good financial choice. But when she talked to advisors at the University of Idaho, she found herself torn.

“They really believed in this program. They were so enthusias-tic,” she said. Then she was offered a Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) scholarship through the honors program. That sealed the deal.

While the WUE got her to UI, it was the Doris Duke scholar-ship that helped her experience the many aspects of natural resources. Doris Duke is a collaborative effort of five universi-ties led by the University of Florida that provides training and mentored research activities for students from groups under-represented in the conservation workforce.

Bush, whose dad is Hawaiian, is in the second group of Doris Duke students, consisting of 25 students nationally. Another 25 finished their second year of the two-year program this summer and a new class will come on in 2016.

She traveled to Washington, D.C., to meet with the entire cohort.


First Generation student samples

programs

“It was really great to see these people from all over the country with the same mindset,” she said.

She returned to spend the summer experiencing wildlife and fisheries research at UI. Several short experiences at the begin-ning and the end of the summer bookended a longer field experience with northern Idaho ground squirrels. Each experi-ence put her shoulder to shoulder with graduate students and faculty doing active research.

It was the last experience of the summer that had the biggest impact. She worked on the Kootenai River in North Idaho with Mike Quist, associate professor and assistant leader of the Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and gradu-ate student Phil Branigan on microhabitat of fish. Studying habitat one foot at a time is fascinating, she said.

“The program exposes students to the natural resource profes-sion, but it wouldn’t be effective without motivated students.

Keala is certainly one of those,” Quist said.

While the first year experiences are within each Doris Duke recipient’s own university, the second summer each chooses a research project — in their school, in another school, in agency or industry.

“I really like the watersheds here in the Northwest,” she said. “I would like to work around here, or Alaska.”

She is optimistic that the summer research position could help her identify where to apply to graduate school. In the mean-time she is busy taking a heavy class load to make up for the change in major, plus volunteering in research labs every chance she gets.

“It is hectic, but I’m still getting all As.”

14 | WINTER 2015 - 16

| FEATURE | SCHOLAR PROGRAMS

Young Researcher Finds Home in UI Labs

While some ambitious students may get involved in lab research their freshman year of college, few have what it takes to jump into fieldwork.

But when Elyce N. Gosselin came to the University of Idaho, she found not only the opportunities to do that research, but also faculty members willing to mentor her and bring her into their projects.

Now a junior, the Boise native is part of an elite group of under-graduate scholars who are recipients of the Goldwater Scholar-ship, given annually through the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program.

Gosselin, who is double-majoring in ecology and conservation biology and mathematical biology, with a minor in Spanish, was one of two UI students to receive the honor last spring, and one of about a dozen in the past decade. She has been active in departmental research since she came to campus.

“She was just an amazing student,” said Janet Rachlow, a professor in the Department of Fish & Wildlife Sciences in UI’s College of Natural Resources. She invited Gosselin to participate in field research for a study in Idaho’s sagebrush steppe environ-

ment. “I don’t typically take freshmen out for field research, but she was just an outstanding student.”

From there, Gosselin took one of Rachlow’s graduate–level classes, interacting with graduate students and then other pro-fessors and researchers.

In addition to her selection as a Goldwater Scholar, Gosselin is a member of UI’s Honors Program and the Doris Duke Conserva-tion Scholars Program, a two-year program that brings together students from five partner universities who have an interest in promoting diversity in the conservation workforce.

While faculty and staff who have interacted with Gosselin credit her success to her eagerness to be involved, Gosselin herself credits the opportunities she found at UI and the willingness of busy professors to teach her.

“They’re just so receptive to students,” Gosselin said of the fac-ulty at UI. “There are just endless opportunities to get involved.”

Rachlow agreed, but noted that it takes a special kind of student to seek the kind of opportunities that Gosselin has.

“Those opportunities are available for a whole lot of students,


but most students don’t seek them out,” Rachlow said. “Elyce just was really active in seeking out opportunities to be involved, and when you have a student like that, that is someone I want to continue to find opportunities for.”

Those opportunities have kept coming. Gosselin is part of a re-search project by doctoral candidate Rob Lonsinger and Lisette Waits, professor of wildlife sciences, that is now being prepared for submission to the Wildlife Society Bulletin and was presented at the Idaho Chapter Wildlife Society meeting. Another research collaboration is submitted to the Journal of Arid Environments. She spent part of last summer in Alaska with the United States Geological Survey, studying the impact of climate change on birds. She attended the national Ecological Society of America meeting in Baltimore with the Doris Duke program. The mem-bers of the program spent time in Washington, D.C., and at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia.

Gosselin said she has always been passionate about the envi-ronment, but didn’t know how to turn that passion into a career. UI’s ecology and conservation biology program is what drew her to Moscow, and now she hopes to continue her education and

research career, eventually obtaining a doctorate and teaching at a research university – with the hopes of inspiring future students the way her UI professors have inspired her.

“It’d be really cool to do that for a future generation of students,” she said. “It’s a cool feeling to be able to expand knowledge; to delve deeper and find answers to questions that haven’t been answered before, or haven’t been answered sufficiently.”

The Goldwater honor brings with it scholarships to pay for tuition, fees and room and board up to $7,500 a year. It makes a difference to the first–generation college student who also has a younger brother who will be attending UI next year. She now hopes she’ll be able to graduate from UI without any student loans.

Honors Program Director Alton Campbell pushed both Gosselin and fellow Goldwater recipient Benjamin Anzis to apply for the scholarship.

“When students are coming in, I’m always trying to think ahead to who they’re going to be and what they can achieve,” Camp-bell said.

– By Savannah Tranchell for the University of Idaho

ECB major awarded Goldwater Scholarship for undergraduate efforts

Photo by Melissa Hartley

16 | WINTER 2015 - 16

| FEATURE | UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

Justin Trujillo enjoys Idaho’s landscapes. Below: Some

of the grasses he has photographed.


By the time Justin Trujillo graduates he will have seen ev-ery corner of Idaho from a bug’s eye view as he captures photos of Idaho grasses — some rare, some not so rare.

The photos are the basis of a book, “A Field Guide to Grasses and Grass-like Plants of Idaho,” which carried the nontraditional undergraduate on to graduate school this winter. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree in rangeland ecology and manage-ment in December 2015.

The project started on a bit of a whim. It was inspired by the Rangeland Center’s book “Backpack Guide to Idaho Range Plants,” which has been a go-to resource for landowners for several years.

“We talked about how nice it would be to have something to rep-resent the grasses,” Trujillo said. “And I thought ‘I can do that.’”

He teamed up last summer with two rangeland graduate students, accompanying them on their research trips, provid-ing research assistance and using the time in the field to gather photos for his book.

Identifying and taking photos of plants was nothing new for Trujillo, 41. Before moving to Moscow to pursue his degree he worked for the Center for Natural Lands Management in southern California. He worked every day identifying plants and protecting the lands under his management.

While he loved his job and was advancing, a 2004 visit from the University of Idaho to his community college class stuck in his head. He knew he wanted to get his bachelor’s degree, and he knew UI was the place to get it. With a wife and two kids, the first-generation college student packed up and headed to Idaho.

He will now continue this journey as he enters grad school this semester, a path he didn’t plan on walking. But funding for his project has proven its worth and he will spend the next two sum-mers capturing as many grasses as possible.

His advisor, Eva Strand, assistant professor in the Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, worked with him to obtain

Undergrad’s path sways with Idaho’s grasses

a MILES Undergraduate Research and Internships grant for $4,000.

“That really helped to spend time organizing photos,” he said.

That was followed by a $27,000 BLOOME grant from the American Society of Plant Biologists and subsequent $6,000 supplemental grant from the same entity.

“Having resources like these for undergraduates to use to promote research early in their education is vital in helping students reach their full potential,” Strand said.

The book will not stand alone. Trujillo is working with, Darek Nalle, a consulting economist, to build a phone app, allowing grass identification on the go. Nalle is also incorporating the ability for the app to geocode species over time, as well as build a database of the findings, to track change on the land-scape. By May they are hoping to beta test the app, loaded with the first 46 grasses. More will be added later.

“This will give people the option of using technology if they aren’t carrying the book,” Trujillo said. The book is due out in December 2017 and will be available via the University of Idaho Rangeland Center and the Idaho Rangeland Resources Com-mission.

18 | WINTER 2015 - 16

| INTERNATIONAL IMPACT

Savannah Kollasch is an undergraduate who

is combining her interests in math and science. She is

seeking a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, with a sci-

entific modeling option, as well as two minors—natural

resources and fishery resources. She spent much of her

summer in Africa, working as a research assistant in the

Gorongosa National Park with Ryan Long, professor of

wildlife resources in the College of Natural Resources.

From the journal of a UI undergraduate

Ryan Long and Savannah Kollasch pose with a sedated antelope

in the Gorongosa National Park


Idaho Double Teams African Park

Rehabilitation

Ryan Long leans precariously out the open door of the helicopter, wind beating against his face, as the rotors swirl like a tornado above the African savanna. Below him the kudu strides out, first right, then left, as Long sizes and sexes the

animal from above. He pulls the cold stock to his cheek, sights in and squeezes the trigger. The dart pierces the hind quarter of the antelope, and five minutes later it falls to the ground, asleep.

This scene plays out over and over for weeks as Long — an assistant professor of wildlife science at the University of Idaho — works his way through the three types of antelope he’s studying at Gorongosa National Park. He’s fitting the animals with GPS collars to track their movement as part of a large project to understand the rehabilitation of the park after 16 years of civil war in Mozambique nearly destroyed this incred-ibly diverse ecosystem.

“Ninety-nine percent of the large animals were killed,” said Long, who earned his master’s in wildlife resources from UI

UI Researcher Assesses Animal Health in Idaho

Philanthropist’s African Investment

in 2007. Eleven years after the Carr Foundation, a non-profit established by Idaho businessman Greg Carr specifically for the rehabilitation of Gorongosa,began supporting science and restoration in the park, Gorongosa again has possibly the most diverse animal population in Africa. The collaboration among the Mozambique Department of Conservation, scientists, community members and stakeholders is not only rebuilding the park, but also dramatically influencing the local economy through tourism and education.

Long began his work in Gorongosa as part of his postdoctoral position at Princeton University. He chalks it up to coincidence that a Bend, Oregon, native would go to Princeton to partner with Carr, an Idaho native now living in Sun Valley, and a year later bring that collaboration to Idaho through his faculty posi-tion at UI.

At Princeton, Long worked with Robert Pringle, assistant pro-fessor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, to design an antelope project to evaluate the health, movement and migration of the animals in relation to termite mounds.

An excerpt from Savannah’s journal:

It was the last day of capture and my fingers still felt

cramped from gripping the horns of a male waterbuck

while our team took measurements and fitted him with

his critter cam. He was securely in the hold of the park

vet now, so I was free to squat by his shoulder and give

him a final pat. My fingers trailed through his thick

greasy fur and it was with some reluctance that I finally

stood up and moved away so the vet could remove his

blindfold and send him off. The waterbuck stood and

bolted a few yards, then halted and tilted his head back

at us in what I now recognized as the typical waterbuck

swagger. “Good luck, bud,” I mumbled, as he turned back

toward the group of animals in the distance and trotted off.

We cracked jokes about the day’s adventures as we packed

equipment into the trucks and the helicopter. As I swung

into the helicopter beside Dr. Long, I looked out at the

horizon wondering where, in the sea of brown bodies, our

male was.

20 | WINTER 2015 - 16

The noise of the helicopter built to a dull roar, then sud-

denly we were rising up and I could see the sun setting

through the haze above and the animals scattering

below. We swung low over the savanna and whirred our

way over the fever tree forest. I was straining my eyes

against the wild when I heard over the headset, “oh look,

elephants.”

And there they were.

Almost invisible among the greys and greens of the

bush were several large adults with a few smaller calves.

The mounds are like green islands, home to dense trees and bushes amid an otherwise dry, desertlike landscape. By study-ing behavior and condition of the animals, scientists can better understand the relationship between termite mounds and re-covering antelope populations in the park. The second season of Long’s research in the park expanded the tracking efforts to Cape buffalo and waterbuck, in collaboration with Princeton and National Geographic.

“It is an amazing ecosystem that has come back differently than anyone would have guessed,” Long said.

The spectacular recovery at the park inspired National Geo-graphic to be involved through collaboration with their “Critter Cam” team, which also included on-site video and photo docu-mentation of the work. The National Geographic crews spent last summer in the park, working side by side with Long.

“This is a very high-profile project that will produce some high-end publications,” Long said. “And ultimately, the University of Idaho will be known for its part in this amazing story of restora-tion and international impact.”

“I was seeing it and breathing

it and putting my fingers

in it, and I couldn’t ask for

anything more.”

Into Africa--The Idaho-Gorongosa Connection on PBS: idahoptv.org/productions/specials/gorongosa/

Visit Gorongosa at: www.gorongosa.org/


Gorongosa National Park Territory


They were obviously spooked by our helicopter noise,

but their ambling gate showed they weren’t in too much

of a hurry to get back under canopy cover. Our pilot

circled back around so we could really look at them, and

as I was leaning out on the skid in the inside of the turn,

gazing at a mother elephant herding her brood under

the trees, I started to cry. I was glad for the wind from the

chopper that was already making my eyes stream so that

no one could tell I was sobbing quietly to myself. I cried

because I was in awe and reverence of all this life that

existed and of how incredibly up close I had been to it. I

cried because I was flying over elephants—these incred-

ible living beings that somehow make more elephants

and shelter them from the winds of helicopters. I cried

because there is so much beautiful perfect fantastic life

here, and I was seeing it and breathing it and putting

my fingers in it, and I couldn’t ask for anything more. In

that moment, above the elephants, I was reminded how

much I love life, and everything that lives it.

22 | WINTER 2015 - 16

Forestry Alumnus Lives Life

as it Happens

Jake French still considers himself a forester despite life-altering accident.

| ALUMNI FEATURE


French’s book, “Life Happens, Live It!” is available on his website, jakefrenchinspires.com.

Jake French worked as a forester exactly three weeks.

Now he talks regularly in front of large groups of natural resource agency employees, land manag-ers and even brings his talents back to his alma mater’s CNR 101 class. Injured just weeks into

his career, the quadriplegic has a lot to say about preparing for a career in natural resources.

“I’m the answers at the back of the book,” he told a room full of first-year CNR students, most of them young freshmen, just beginning their college journey.

French grew up in eastern Oregon and came to UI in 2004 ready to begin his journey toward a natural resources career. But, he admits, the path he followed was a bumpy one, filled with bad decisions and nothing to fill his “life resume.”

“If you asked my professors about me, they probably wouldn’t have much good to say,” he said. He was the guy at the back of the class, probably talking, and waiting for the next opportu-nity to get drunk. Now he offers advice so other students can avoid his mistakes: “You need to put yourself out there. Get involved in clubs. Take internships, even if you don’t get paid.”

Living life after collegeFrench moved to St. Maries the summer after graduating, going to work in a temporary job in the forest industry. Several friends went with him.

“It was like college part two, only without homework and with money.”

They worked hard and partied even harder. That fall he moved to Tillamook, Oregon, to begin a career with the Oregon De-partment of Forestry, but his lifestyle didn’t change. On Dec. 6, 2008, he and his friends had a typical drink-’til-you-drop night. While stopped at a gas station, he saw a childhood friend he hadn’t seen in years stagger out of the station. Happy to see his friend, French jumped out of the car to catch up. After just a minute of reminiscing, the friend put French in a full nelson headlock, throwing both drunken men off balance. French landed on his face, breaking his neck and ending his budding career. The friend left, never to be heard from again.

French had no feeling in his legs. Doctors told him he would never use his arms and possibly, after a final surgery, never breathe on his own. Months later, he defied the odds. He developed some use of his arms and was breathing strongly between each well-placed joke about his condition.

“Humor really got my family and me through,” he said.

Living life againThough French took training to stay in the natural resource industry, the nerve damage proved to cause too much pain in the legs he couldn’t otherwise feel.

“So I retrained — as a public speaker. It is so opposite of any-thing I have ever done,” he said.

Now a member of the National Speakers Association — where he holds a board position — he is learning from mentors who are helping him find his message and deliver it in the way French intends — with humor and no pity.

French started his speaking career in the high school he gradu-ated from. He spoke to high school students for quite a while before branching out and growing his message to apply to natural resource professionals.

“These are my people,” he said. “I can relate to them.”

As he talked to CNR’s newest students during a visit to UI last fall, his messages were clear

• Make good choices with alcohol. If you roll the dice, are you willing to pay the price?

• Cut out negativity. Making “can do” an initial reaction increases your value.

• Put yourself out there. Don’t just tell why you love natural resources, show it.

Simply put: Life happens. Live it.

Jake French talked with CNR students at the annual leadership retreat in the fall.

24 | WINTER 2015 - 16

| VISITING SCHOLARS

Three visiting scholars spent the fall working with Armando McDonald, a chemist and professor in the renewable materials program.

Name: Andrés Bretón Toral

Position: Master’s student

Home institution: Research Centre of Applied Biotechnology of the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico

Work at UI: Lactic acid fermentation in raw materials such as potato peel, corn, bamboo, used coffee grounds and almond shells. All the fermentations are done with a lactic acid con-sortia isolated from Mexican coffee mucilage. In those fer-mentations, the monosaccharides (carbohydrates that do not hydrolyze) are measured and the organic acids produced are recorded.

Thoughts about UI: I am impressed by the large amount of equipment the laboratory has for research and the space for laboratories. Everything is in the best condition.

Name: Olufemi Oluseye Adefisan

Position: Senior lecturer

Home institution: University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Work at UI: Production and testing of plastic composites from biomass waste, which is abundant in Nigeria.

Thoughts about UI: UI is an excellent institution with a legacy of leading. The academics and research are thoroughly ex-ecuted. Moscow is a place to be in terms of academics and research.

Name: Shupin Luo

Position: Doctoral candidate

Home institution: Bejing Forestry University, China

Work at UI: Research in renewable materials, specifically wood-plastic composites.

Thoughts about UI: People here are friendly and kind.

Visiting scholars

Fire knows no boundaries.

So it is no wonder fire education leaders also know no boundaries.

The spark of international collaboration first struck nearly 30 years ago when Francisco Rego lit in Moscow, ready to apply his fire research in Portugal to a doctorate from the oldest fire science program in the United States. Under the tutelage of Steve Bunting, now retired professor of rangeland and fire sciences, Rego not only completed his doctorate but was the first to apply fire science research in his European home.

That graduate school relationship grew to a professional one, and most recently Rego spent a semester residing in the basement of his alma mater, working in conjunction with UI faculty to draft a book about landscape ecology.

“We’ve had this idea for a long time, to write this book together,” he said.

It has also given time for strategizing about the online courses offered for the new specialty in wildfire management through the Master of Natural Resources professional master’s degree. Rego is teaching one of the online courses for UI this spring.

Rego’s successful and varied career earned him a CNR Alumni Award. He was the first to teach fire courses in Portugal, which are now taught at three universities. He has led fire research and management, both in universities and in Portuguese and European agencies, for many years. Three years ago he was on the UI campus to teach fire seminars, bringing in students from Italy, Spain, France and Australia. That international impact is what Rego likes about the online courses offered by UI.

“It is one course for the world,” he said. “Fire doesn’t know where it is. It behaves the same with the same rules everywhere.”


For more information on supporting industry collaboration, contact:




Tom and Teita Reveley Nursery Facility at the Franklin H. Pitkin Nursery

REVELEY FACILITY CONTINUES TO WIN AWARDS AND RECOGNITION The Reveley Nursery Facility was named the 2015 Top Project for public infrastructure/transportation by the Idaho Business Review.

The award is the latest in a long string of awards and honors the building has garnered.

• 2015 WoodWorks—Green Building with Wood Award

• 2015 featured by Architzer, a professional publication

• 2014 Best Use of Wood, commercial, by Association of Idaho Architects

• 2014 Association of Idaho Architects Honor Award

• 2014 used as a case study by Engineered Wood

Nursery Building Demonstrates Collaboration with Industry

The Tom and Teita Reveley Nursery Facility is a teaching tool, industry showcase and example of best practice. It is functional, contemporary, energy-efficient and Idaho-grown.

The building features Idaho forest products donated by Idaho industry. Architecture is by UI alumni of Patano Studio Architecture. The landscaping is also Idaho-grown. Many of those involved in the project are UI grown. It is a testament to collaboration, partnerships and shared vision for the future of Idaho forest products.

Photo by Melissa Hartley

26 | WINTER 2015 - 16

For Zion Klos, a doctoral student specializing in hydrol-ogy, understanding actions to mitigate climate change means taking a first-hand cruise from his family’s home on Lake Michigan, through the Great Lakes and

down the Eastern seaboard to the Caribbean. Along the way, he is talking to watchdog groups, environmental organizations, public utilities managers and more about actions underway to clean contaminated waterways, like the Hudson River, and re-pair damage done by more and larger coastal storms. He calls it the Climate Odyssey.

“This is the most creative, exciting and high-profile dissertation projects I have ever seen,” said Tim Link, a professor in the College Natural Resources and Klos’ advisor.

The year-long trip doubles as a sort of honeymoon for Klos and his wife, Lucy Holtsnider. They got married just weeks before embarking on their adventure. Holtsnider is an environmental artist who is using her time aboard the boat, The Wildcat, to photograph climate change impacts and adaptations. She is also joining Klos on classroom visits and outreach, and main-tains the voyage blog.

Couple Sails Through Grad

Klos and Holtsnider restored the boat in a months-long project prior to setting sail in August. Klos learned to sail when this family used the home-built catamaran to sail from Wisconsin, down the Mississippi River to the Caribbean, then back up the Atlantic Coast in 2000-2001.

The Climate Odyssey is funded by the National Science Foundation, personal funds and from $13,000 in crowd sourced funding, grants and sponsorships.

Follow their journey at www.climateodyssey.org/

School

| GRADUATE EXPERIENCE

Top left: a bridge on the way through the Erie Canal.

Top right: Docked at the Science Barge in Yonkers, New York

Bottom left: Fish outside the Riverfront Market in Yonkers, New York

Bottom right: Duckweed is disturbed by the “tracks” made by The Wildcat


Couple Sails Through Grad

BLOG ENTRY Sept. 15, Erie CanalThe Erie Canal has been a lovely ride! The scenery and sailing are not quite as thrill-ing as on the Great Lakes, but we’ve been very productive and also had a chance to settle in to boat life. The Wildcat finally feels like our home and living in such a small space has ceased feeling cramped or inconvenient. It’s almost hard to imagine how we filled up a whole house when we lived in Idaho.

BLOG ENTRY October 7, New YorkOne of the best ways to protect waterfront property from storm surges is to restore a marsh in front of it. Caitlin mentioned an awesome group called Hudson River Sustainable Shorelines Project that works to restore marshes and educate cities on how to do so. We took a field trip to a marsh under their jurisdiction called Piermont Marsh. The town of Piermont has a substantial buffer against flooding thanks to the marsh, but invasive phragmites reeds have choked out most native plants.

BLOG ENTRY October 12, Lower Hudson ValleyJust down the street the Center for Urban Renewal at Beczak, or CURB, continues the environmental education mission but with a waterfront theme. They restored the only speck of green on the waterfront in Yonkers that we could see, and they take kids out into the river each day to scoop up fish and plants and show them that the muddy river is actually teeming with life. They also have a little garden out front and, like the Science Barge, are committed to helping Yonkers residents connect to the Hudson River and to their local food system.

Who knew graduate school at the landlocked University

of Idaho would require a 34-foot sailboat?

School

Bottom left to right: Zion Klos and Lucy Holtsnider, The Wildcat, and Phillips Creek Estuary

Top left to right: Navigating the narrow channel in Dismal Swamp, going into North Carolina; Alligator River in North Carolina; Beach erosion at Cape Island, South Carolina

28 | WINTER 2015 - 16

Harry Camp started his career with the U.S. Forest Service at a time when recreation in the woods was just becoming a mainstream phenomenon.

“People were realizing the pleasures of getting outdoors and rubbing elbows with nature,” said Camp, who often took his family camping on the weekends.

That was in the early 1930s. Camp turned 105 last September.

It’s been 44 years since Camp retired, and he doesn’t get out into the woods nearly as much as he used to — his vision has deteriorated — but “it’s something that never leaves you,” he said.

A lifelong outdoorsman, Camp got interested in the field as a teenager when he had a summer job as a lookout on the Yakama reservation. Perched in a tower amid the Cascade Mountains of Central Washington, he kept his eyes peeled for forest fires.

Camp attended the University of Idaho because of its strong forestry program. Plus, he liked the fact that classes were small enough that, “I got to know all of the students,” he said.

He finished his forestry degree at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1933, but had enough credits from UI to qualify as an alumnus. A day after graduating, he had joined the U.S. Forest Service

Living in Sync With the Trees

| ALUMNI FEATURE

Harry Camp, 105, outside his Minnesota home last summer.


Living in Sync With the Trees Camp, who now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his wife, Myrna, 91, held every post imaginable in the forest service — from forest ranger to high-ranking administrator.

His career took him all over the globe, from the Pacific North-west to Iran. He moved 27 times.

His late first wife and their two children took it in stride.

“My wife would say, ‘when are we going to move again?’” Camp remembers.

Not every new job or destination was ideal, but it was always an adventure.

“The more things you know, it makes life interesting,” he said, and moving is a good way to get out of a rut.

Camp became an expert in everything from the trees them-selves, which he can identify by the smell of their bark, to livestock, insects and campers — anything and everything that affects the forests in some way.

He even advised NASA as to the types of soil samples they might want to collect when they went to the moon, he said.

He headed the national forestry survey of timbered areas throughout the U.S. Camp also started the service’s Depart-ment of Recreation Research.

When he retired in 1971, Camp was the director of the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experimental Station, one of the forest service’s so-called “living laboratories.”

The Society of American Foresters, of which he’s been a member for 75 years, recognized him with its John A. Beale Memorial Award in 1992.

Camp said that whatever his specific role, his mission was always the same: to make sure people and the forest flowed together — “to help the two of them get along. Don’t let one take over the other.”

Sometimes, one or the other has to give a little.

“I like to cooperate with the trees and make it easy for them,” he said.

– By Anna Pratt, freelance writer

Camp said that

whatever his specific

role, his mission was

always the same: to

make sure people

and the forest flowed

together — “to help

the two of them get

along. Don’t let one

take over the other.”

30 | WINTER 2015 - 16

Alumni news

2015 Alumni Awards

Jim Unsworth (BS Wildlife Resources, ’82; Ph.D., Forestry, Wild-life and Range Science, ’94) was named director of the Washing-ton Fish and Wildlife Commission. He worked 30 years with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, serving as deputy director since 2008. In his new position, he leads more than 1,600 em-ployees and a two-year operating budget of $376 million.

Lt. Col. Stephen A. Danner, U.S. Army, retired, (BS Forestry, ’89; BS Political Science, ’89) was named network catastrophe response manager to the Contractor Connection management team in Jacksonville, Florida in late 2014. After 28 years in the U.S. Army and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he is leading catastrophe response for Contractor Connection’s network, with a focus on proactive planning and preparation.

Leanne Marten (MS Natural Resources, ‘93) was named regional forester for the Northern Region on the U.S. Forest Service. She is responsible for managing 25 million acres across five states, including 12 national forests. She has worked for the Forest Service for more than 20 years, most recently as the national director for ecosystem management coordination.

Scott Gardner (MS Wildlife Resources, ‘97) received a Special Thanks for Achieving Results (STAR) Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for his extensive work on sage grouse. He co-led the development of the Bi-state Conservation Plan for Greater Sage Grouse. He also collaborated with U.S. Geological Survey scientists to develop a strong science-based approach and led multi-year sage grouse studies providing critical informa-tion to support the plan’s population and habitat models.

Roy Churchwell (BS Wildlife Resources, ‘99) joined the staff at the Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge as a wildlife biologist. He also worked this year toward his doctorate at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, based on research done at the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Brandon Knapton (BS Wildlife, ’01) was named ranger of the Lochsa and Powell districts on the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. He came most recently from the Bureau of Land Management where he was a resource coordinator for the Boise District. Prior to that, he worked for the National Park Service and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

Joe Oatman (BS Fishery Resources, ’01; MS Fishery Resourc-es, ’06) was appointed as tribal representative to the Pacific Fishery Management Council, one of eight regional fishery management councils, with jurisdiction over more than 300,000 square miles of fish habitat and 120 species of fish within the area. He was also appointed to the National Ocean Council Governance committee. This council develops and implements national ocean policy.

Eric Larson (BS Fishery Resources, ’04) started a tenure-track assistant professor position at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Department of Natural Resources and Environ-mental Sciences.

Daniel Robert Davisdon (BS Wildlife Resources, ’12) and Tif-fany Marie Fritz were married June 27, 2015 in Ohio.

Elizabeth Gibbs (Fishery Resources, ‘14) and Josh Eastman (BS Fire Ecol. & Man., ‘13) both of Culdesac, Idaho, were mar-ried August 19, 2015. She works at the Nez Perce Tribe Fisher-ies Watershed and he works for the Idaho Department of Lands.

Wyatt Williams (BS Rangeland Ecol. & Man., ’14) and MaKayla Shaeffer, (General Studies, ’14) both of Ferdinand, Idaho, were married April 18, 2015. He is working as a farmer and rancher, she is continuing her education in health care.

International Alumni Achievement Award

Martin Mendoza (PhD ’85) professor of forestry Colegio de Postgradua-dos, Campus Veracruz, Mexico

Alumni Achievement Award

Joe Oatman (MS ’01, PhD ’06) deputy program manager for Nez Perce Tribe Fisheries Department

Jeremy Pinto (MS ’05, PhD ’09) research plant physiologist for U.S. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station

Mid-Career Alumni Achievement Award

Evelyn Merrill (MS ’78) professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta, Edmon-ton, Canada

Roger Sathre (MS ’02) research scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Honor Alumni Award

Mike Roach (BS ’75) natural resources director for U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho.

Doris Tai (MS ’81) retired, deputy forest supervisor for the Willamette National Forest

Honor Associate Alumni AwardDavid New, forestry and business improvement consultant

Betty Munis, executive director of the Idaho Forest Products Commission

Celebrating Natural Resources AwardBrent Keith (BS ’05) policy counsel for the National As-sociation of State Foresters in Washington, D.C.

Bridge Builder AwardChristopher Williams, chairman of the Depart-ments of Statistics and Mathematics at the Univer-sity of Idaho

| ALUMNI NEWS


Photos by Holli Sampson

The College of Natural Resources has many scholarships, fellowships and other student opportunities that rely

on donor involvement. For more infor-mation on this program or any other

CNR fund, contact:




Support Student OpportunitiesThe Oxbow Fellowship is a unique program partnering the Center for Forest Nursery and Seedling Research at UI with the Oxbow Center’s Native Plant Nursery in Carnation, Washington. Master’s students spend half their time at UI and half at Oxbow completing research specific to native plant regeneration, nursery management, seedling production, or restoration of degraded lands.

Current research focuses on better understanding of how to grow milkweed, the main food source for declining populations of monarch butterflies.

32 | WINTER 2015 - 16

Welcome

Edwin Krumpe comes to mind when one thinks of Taylor Wilderness Research. As the principle scientist of wilderness management of the UI Wilderness Research Center and six-year director, Krumpe has been instrumental in wilderness education and research. He has devoted his career to teaching management of recreational resources, wilderness and wild scenic river planning,

natural resource communication and public involvement in recreational resources. For two decades he organized and taught the CNR summer field course and has several times stepped in as head of the Department of Conservation Social Sciences. He has been an active leader in the college’s newest academic program: Semester in the Wild. In retirement he is able to spend more time creating beautiful wood carvings.

Farewell

April Hulet, assistant professor of rangeland ecology and management

Brian Small, professor of fish physiology

Leda Kobziar, clinical assistant professor of wildland fire science

Dennis Becker, director of Policy Analysis Group

Andrew Nelson, assistant professor of silviculture

Dan Mottern, lecturer, renewable materials

Elyse Bean, F&W Cooperative Unit, Program Specialist

Kaitlin Flack, HR and Operations Supervisor

Keri Moore, assistant to the dean

Phil Higuera Tammy Laninga

FACULTY

STAFF

RETIRING STAFF

RETIRING FACULTY

Julie Haar, administrative assistant, Conservation Social Science

Linda Kisha, administrative assistant, Fish and Wildlife Sciences

| NOTES


Faculty and Staff Awards

NATIONAL AWARDSOutstanding Academic Advisor, National Academic Advisor Association—Frank Wilhelm

UNIVERSITY AWARDSUI Distinguished Professor—Lisette WaitsUI Outreach and Engagement Excellence Award—Steven Daley-LaursenDr. Arthur Maxwell Taylor Excellence in Diversity Faculty Award—Anthony S. DavisDonald Crawford Graduate Faculty Mentoring Award—Penny MorganUI Alumni Award for Excellence Inspirational Mentor—Lisette WaitsUI Alumni Award for Excellence Inspirational Mentor—Kerri VierlingUI Teaching Excellence—Kerri VierlingMcBride Award, distinguished service for non-faculty exempt staff—Darrell StoutOutstanding Staff, non-faculty exempt— Matt Keefer

CNR AWARDSOutstanding Research Award—Janet RachlowOutstanding Continuing Education and Outreach Award—Luigi Boschetti

PROFESSIONAL AWARDSEinarsen Award for outstanding professional service, NW Section of The Wildlife Society—Lisette WaitsExcellence in Science Award, USGS, Cooperative Research Unit—Michael QuistBest Professional Paper Award, Annual Meeting of the Colorado-Wyoming Chapter of the American Fisheries Society—Michael QuistExcellence in Aquaculture Award, Idaho Chapter American Fisheries Society—Christine MoffittOutstanding Mentor, Idaho Chapter of American Fisheries Society—Michael QuistFellow of the American Society of Fisheries— Christine Moffitt

Steven Daley-Laursen

Frank Wilhelm

Anthony S. Davis

Kerri Vierling

Lisette Waits

Penny Morgan

Darrell Stout

Michael Quist

Janet Rachlow

Luigi Boschetti

Christine Moffitt

AWARDS |

34 | WINTER 2015 - 16

Brazilian Government Invests in UI Education

to not only provide an exchange experience for the students but also to broaden the academic and research relationship between the countries. The initiative is jointly sponsored by the Brazilian Ministry of Education and the Brazilian Ministry of Sci-ence and Technology.

The program’s goals are:• To promote scientific research;• To invest in educational resources, allocated both within Brazil, and internationally;• To increase international cooperation within science and technology;• To initiate and engage students in global dialogue.

The University of Idaho benefitted from 110 Brazilian students specifically in this program this year. Funding cuts in Brazil will reduce this to about 18 students next year.

Brazil has been well represented in the College of Natural Resources for the last year. About a dozen students have marked trees on the experimental for-est, taken measurements in the labs and broadened

the discussions in the classroom.

They are all part of the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program (BSMP) which provides scholarships in STEM (science, tech-nology, engineering and math) programs to undergraduate and graduate students from Brazil.

The students spend a year in the United States, studying and learning, before returning to Brazil to finish their degrees.

This initiative, administered by the Institute for International Education, is part of the Brazilian government’s larger effort to grant 100,000 scholarships to the best students from Brazil for study abroad at the world’s top universities. The program aims



Margaret Ann Littlejohn, 66, died March 17, 2015. After she received her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences in 1971, she began a life-long career with the National Park Service. She served for many years as a park ranger. In 1988 Littlejohn’s career took her to Moscow where she served as the western coordinator for the NPS Visitor Services Proj-ect for the Cooperative Park Studies Unit at the University of Idaho. Her work eventually expanded to the entire national park system, and she remained in this unit until her retirement in 2012. Elaine F. Meyer, 89, died July 28, 2015. She worked as a secretary in the forest products department of the College of Forestry for many years. She loved working closely with graduate students. She retired in 1995.Marvin B. Chouinard, 98, (BS Forestry, ‘41) died March 30, 2015. While at the UI he was on the wrestling team and in the ROTC band. After graduating Chouinard started working with Weyerhaeuser Timber Company. He was drafted into the US Army during WWII and served as a surveyor in a forward observer group with the 580 artillery bat-talion. He was instrumental in starting the company’s first tree farm at the Clemons Branch in Grays Harbor County, Washington. He served in various positions in Weyerhaeuser’s forestry department but he was mostly known for being the protection forester. He retired in 1977. James Hugh Kuechmann, 87, (BS Forestry, ’51) died March 7, 2015. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, he attended the University of Idaho. He worked for the Great Northern Railroad and as a bartender for Stockman’s Bar and the Eagles. He then worked for the Forest Service, flying over forest fires and calculating how much man-power, equipment and time it would take to put the fire out. He retired from the Forest Service in 1985.Roger R. Bay, 83, (BS Forestry, ‘53) died April 3, 2015. He earned his masters and doctorate in forestry and watershed management from the University of Minnesota. Roger served in the U.S. Army for two years, stationed in Alaska. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service for 34 years. He started as a smoke-jumper in Idaho, and retired as Forest Service Director of the Pacific Southwest Research Station in Berkley, Calif. He served on the UI CNR Alumni Board and the board of directors of the National Forest History Museum.James Browning Gregg, 88, (BS Forestry, ‘56) died October 3, 2015. The World War II veteran managed the Seattle Gun Club for many years. He later developed a unique system of “sightless” shooting which he taught to gun enthusiasts and law enforcement. Ralph B. Roberts, 79, (BS Forestry, ‘58) died October 7, 2015. The ROTC cadet served eight years in the Army Reserves. He worked 35 years for the USDA Forest Service, retiring in 1990 as the head of the Range, Wildlife, Watershed and Fire Division in Lakeview, Idaho.Kenneth Eugene Quick, 83, (BS Forestry, ’60) died January 30, 2015. He worked for the U.S. government for 30 years, retiring in 1983. That year he went to work for the University of Idaho as supervisor of the uni-versity’s forest nursery. He received the Outstanding Employee Award in 1990 and the Outstanding Continuing Education and Service Award in 1994. He retired from the UI in 1996.Dave H. Stere, 75, (BS Forest Management, ’62) died August 25, 2015. He was in the Navy ROTC before entering active duty upon grad-uation. He served on the Vesuvius, the Kitty Hawk and as Engineering Officer on the Finch during the Vietnam War. Stere worked for the State of Oregon Department of Forestry for 34 years.

In MemoryRussell L. “Rusty” Newcomb, 76, (BS Forestry, ’62) died October 11, 2014.John K. Parker, 72, (BS Forest Management, ’66) died November 23, 2015. He was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and worked for the Wash-ington Department of Natural Resources, Idaho Department of Lands and Evergreen Forest Products.Donald Keith Wood, 71, (BS Forestry, ’67) died December 16, 2014. He had a long and successful career for the U.S. Forest Service. He worked as a district ranger and forest planner for a combined total of 32 years. He especially enjoyed his position as a district ranger because he was able to experience the out-of-doors, up close and personal. Some of his favorite activities occurred in the forests where he worked.Roger Allen Ward, 71, (MS Forestry, ’77) died February 6, 2015. After earning his bachelor’s degree at Purdue University and service in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam, he moved to Elk City, Idaho, with the U.S. Forest Service. After earning his master’s degree he transferred to the Kamiah office before moving to the Grangeville office, from which he retired in 1998. Gordon Donald Bunch, 67, (MS Wildlife Resources ‘82) died July 12, 2015. He served in the U.S. Air Force, was stationed in Vietnam and Tai-wan and was awarded the United States of America Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Nebraska before attending the University of Idaho. He worked for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game as a wildlife land manager in southern Idaho for five years before returning to northern Idaho. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service as a rural mail carrier for more than 20 years. He retired from the postal service in 2007.Eric Allen Holt, 48, (BS Wildlife Biology/Environmental Science, ’90) died October 11, 2015. He work for EG&G, a private national defense government contractor, and was part of the Yucca Mountain Nevada project where he became the lead scientist studying the desert tortoise. He then worked for the Montana and Oregon fish and game depart-ments before moving to Texas for graduate school. He worked in the wildlife division of JBR Consultants (now SANTEC) in Sandy, Utah, was promoted to division manager and established a branch office in St. George. Sgt. Gregory King Moore, 43, (BS Wildlife Resources, ‘97) was shot and killed in the line of duty May 5, 2015. He was a deputy with the Coeur d’Alene Police Department. Greg worked as a patrol officer, field training officer and school resource officer. April M. Rand, 38 (MS Natural Resources, ‘10) died September 30, 2015. She worked for the USDA Forest Service in Oregon and Alaska before earning her master’s degree. While attending UI, she worked summers at the Grand Teton National Park. After earning her master’s degree, she went to work at the California Academy of Science at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Calif.

IN MEMORY |

36 | WINTER 2015 - 16

UI Wildlife Student First in Tribe to Earn Doctoral Degree

| TRIBAL IMPACT


Some people simply can’t watch from the side-lines. As Shaun Grassel’s wife worked toward her advanced degree in the University of Idaho College of Natural Resources, he found him-self drawn in, wanting his chance at bat.

He not only took the bat, he hit a homerun.

Grassel is a member of the Lower Brule Sioux tribe of South Dakota and graduated last spring with a doctoral degree in Natural Resources — it’s the first such degree earned by any member of his tribe.

Grassel grew up on the Lower Brule Sioux reservation, southeast of Pierre, South Dakota, on the Missouri River.

“It’s an educational desert,” he said of post-secondary educational opportunities within the vast prairie. “Most young people from the reservation don’t leave to go to college, and even if they do, the distance and cultural dif-ferences usually drive them back home.”

Grassel earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in wildlife and fisheries sciences from South Dakota State University. He returned to the reservation and took a job as a wildlife biologist with the tribe’s Department of Wild-life, Fish and Recreation.

Shaun now splits his time between central South Dakota and Lewiston, where he and his wife, Marcie Carter, a Nez Perce tribal member, live with their two children. She works in fisheries with the Nez Perce tribe.

While Carter was working toward her advanced degree in wildlife resources, she would bring home stories from class and her field experience.

“I caught the bug,” Grassel said.

For the first couple years of his doctoral work, Grassel was on the Moscow campus engaging in classes while maintaining his research in South Dakota. Because he kept his professional position 1,100 miles away while starting a family and going to school, it was a long pro-cess.

“I’ve been around a long time,” he said of his seven-year doctoral run. His efforts and success did not go unno-ticed. In 2006 he was one of two students from around the world who received the Christensen Conservation Leaders Scholarship for the Wildlife Conservation Society. A year later he was named a Bush Leadership Fellow by the Archibald Bush Foundation, “a recognition of extraor-dinary achievement and a bet on extraordinary potential,” according to its website.

“Like many of the Native American students with whom I have interacted, he is respectful and polite, “ said Janet Rachlow, his graduate advisor and professor of wildlife in the College of Natural Resources. “Shaun is motivated, positive and fair.”

Grassel’s graduate research with black-footed ferrets is an extension of his longtime job of reintroduction of the species on the reservation. The ferrets have a direct relationship with prairie dogs. They are only found in prairie dog colonies because they live in the burrows made by prairie dogs and primarily eat the small range-land rodents. But disease, spread by fleas that live on the prairie dogs, can wipe out entire colonies. Grassel’s work involves tracking and reintroducing ferrets to areas that could be affected by disease. He vaccinates the ferrets and applies insecticide to prairie dog burrows to keep the areas free of fleas.

The 6,000-acre prairie dog complex that was ground zero for his graduate work was hit by plague recently and now only about 600 acres of prairie dogs are found on the res-ervation. His research has concluded, Grassel’s work now includes translocating prairie dogs to areas hit hardest by plague and reintroducing ferrets when prairie dog popula-tions reach adequate levels.

At UI, Grassel received the UI Alumni Award for Excel-lence in 2009 and has served as president of the Native American Graduate Student Association. He was also the 2015 Outstanding Graduate Student in wildlife resources for the College of Natural Resources.

Photo by Joe Pallen.

38 | WINTER 2015 - 16

Vandals in Partnership DetailsVandals in Partnership or “VIP” is a program designed as an opportunity for Vandal alumni to help in the recruit-ment of future Vandals. Learn more about recruitment initiatives and the potential of becoming an area alumni representative.

Understanding people have different schedules, commitments and interests, we have created numerous ways you can become involved to help recruit the next generation of Vandals. The time commitment is completely up to you and can vary from a few minutes to a few hours a month. We hope that you find one or many opportuni-ties that interest you.

Below is an outline of options for VIP. Browse through the list to determine the best fit for you. Please fill out the VIP form to let us know how you prefer to contribute your time. uidaho.edu/admissions/alumni/sign-up-sheet

Grow-the-Gold - Minimal Level of Involvement & Time Commitment

Only a few minutes to donate but looking for a great way to impact the growth of the Vandal Family? Nominate a student of your choice for the Grow-the-Gold program.

Recruitment Events - Moderate Level of Involvement & Time Commitment

We host multiple events in Idaho, Oregon, Washington and California. These events provide the opportunity for you to share your personal stories, successes and Vandal experiences with students and their families.

Luncheons - Moderate Level of Involvement & Time Commitment

Join University of Idaho Admissions and alumni representatives for lunch, networking, and collaborative open discussions about the university’s recruitment efforts and initiatives. Luncheons will be hosted in varying locations

VIP Recruitment Partner - High Level of Involvement & Time Commitment

As a VIP Recruitment Partner, you have the opportunity to take part in specialized trainings, sit on panels at events, assist in numerous recruitments events, take part in one-on-one discussions with students and represent the University of Idaho at high schools and college fairs.

Some of the benefits you will receive with the VIP program include:

VandalsPartnershipPartnershipin

• A Welcome Packet

• Information about Degrees and Majors

• Ongoing Training Opportunities

• University of Idaho VIP Polo Shirt

• Official University of Idaho VIP Name Tag

• Insider Knowledge about Recruitment Initiatives at the University

| ALUMNI IMPACT


Justin Trujillo, “Back Off”

CAPTURING NATUREThe second annual Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences photo contest featured more than 90 entries from students, faculty and staff. Everyone in the college was encouraged to vote for their favorites. A winner was chosen from each of three categories. The winners were framed and are hanging in the department office for the next year.

UNDERGRADUATE CATEGORYWinning entry: Justin Trujillo, “Back Off”Runner-up: Amanda Holmes,

“Table Mountain Trail, Tetons”

GRADUATE CATEGORYWinning entry: Matt Fisk,

“Reflections from the Underground”Runner-up: Zachary Lyon, “Night Burning”

FACULTY/STAFF CATEGORYWinning entry: Tim Link,

“The Sawtooths & Red Fish Lake”Runner-up: Heather Heward “All in a Day’s Work”

Amanda Holmes, “Table Mountain Trail, Tetons”

Zachary Lyon, “Night Burning”

Matt Fisk, “Reflections from the Underground”

Tim Link, “The Sawtooths & Red Fish Lake”

Heather Heward “All in a Day’s Work”

40 | WINTER 2015 - 16

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit 679

Boise, ID

875 Perimeter Drive MS 1142Moscow, ID 83844-1142

Who better to recruit our next natural resource leaders than our student ambassadors? This energetic group is actively

involved in college fairs, visiting high schools and high school visits to campus. They are indeed the faces of the College of Natural Resources.

The Faces of CNR

celebrating natural resources | winter 2015-2016

Documents