Ecosystem Science and Management
Research Group Members
Graduate Students
Tami Plechaty - Tami has an undergraduate degree in Animal Science from California Polytechnic
State University at San Luis Obispo and is currently a master's student. Her research is supported by the USDA Agricultural
Research Service and is assessing cattle nutrition, diet composition, and energetics
under different grazing strategies at Cheyenne, WY and Nunn, CO.
Lauren Connell - Lauren holds an undergraduate degree in Geography and a master's degree in Geographic
Information Science (GIS), both from Florida State University. She is currently a
master's student under Drs. Derek Scasta (UW) and Lauren Porensky (USDA-ARS). Lauren's
research project evaluates how fire and prairie dogs interact with various types of
herbivory (livestock, large native ungulates, small mammals) to structure plant communities
in the Thunder Basin National Grassland. This work is supported by UW College of Agriculture
and Natural Resources and the UW Agricultural Experiment Station. 
Leanne Correll - Leanne has an undergraduate degree from Colorado State University and is currently
a master's student piloting Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances (CCAA)
with private ranches for sage-grouse conservation. Leanne's project is jointly funded
by UW Extension and UW Agricultural Experiment Station and has her interacting with
ranchers from across the state.
Jacob Hennig - Jacob holds a BS in Fisheries and Wildlife with a Conservation Biology emphasis
from the University of Minnesota and a MS in Natural Resource and Environmental Sciences
from the University of Illinois. Jacob's doctoral research will be assessing spatial
ecology and rangeland management implications of wild horses in southern Wyoming.
This work is supported by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of
Land Management.
Colleen Friday - Colleen holds a BS in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management from the University
of Wyoming. Colleen's master's thesis will re-conduct a vegetation inventory of two
high-elevation basins on the Wind River Indian Reservation and will connect contemporary
plant names with Shoshone and Arapaho names. This work is supported by the Bureau
of Indian Affairs and University of Wyoming Academic Affairs.Bryn Marah - Bryn holds a BS in Environmental Science and Technology from Colorado Mesa University.
Bryn's research will be assessing the effectiveness of mechanical and fire treatments
on the Uncompahgre and Medicine Bow National Forests. This work is supported by the
United States Forest Service Pathway Program and the Southern Rockies Fire Science
Network.
Undergraduate Students
Justin White - Justin is an undergraduate in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management major
at UW and has worked as a research technician in the Thunder Basin grasslands doing
vegetation sampling and exclosure installation. Justin is from Casper, WY.Jessica Windh - Jessica is a senior Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management major at UW and
is working on survey of how livestock predation trends can be mitigated. Jessica's
project is funded by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture Predator Management Board
with support from the Wyoming Stock Growers Association and Wyoming Wool Growers Association.
Jessica is also working on an EPSCoR funded project measuring visual obstruction and
biomass of vegetation on 8 different ecological sites on AES research properties.
Former Members
Kelsey Welter - Kelsey graduated with a BS in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management major
at UW. While at UW, Kelsey assisted with a survey of agricultural and environmental
special-interest groups to determine if these groups assign disparate values to Wyoming’s
open spaces. Kelsey's project was funded by the Haub School for the Environment and
Natural Resources, Open Spaces Initiative. After graduating, Kelsey took a job as
a Rangeland Management Specialist with USDA NRCS in Medicine Lodge, KS.
