Kevin Monteith, a professor and Wyoming Excellence Chair in UW’s Haub School of
Environment and Natural Resources and the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research
Unit, pauses for a photo with two captured mule deer during a research project in
western Wyoming. Monteith has been named a Fellow of The Wildlife Society for exceptional
service to the wildlife profession. (UW Photo)
A University of Wyoming scientist has been honored by The Wildlife Society (TWS) for
exceptional service to the wildlife profession.
Kevin Monteith, a professor and Wyoming Excellence Chair in UW’s Haub School of Environment
and Natural Resources and the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit,
has been named a TWS Fellow. He joins a select group that includes just two other
UW faculty members -- Professor Merav Ben-David and John Koprowski, also a Wyoming
Excellence Chair and the Haub School’s dean.
Monteith’s award will be presented at TWS’ 30th annual conference in Louisville, Ky.,
later this year. Paul Krausman, past president of the organization and a TWS Fellow,
calls Monteith “a world-class ungulate ecologist.”
“I simply cannot imagine a person more deserving in his scholarship, teaching and
service to our TWS community and our profession,” Koprowski says. “In a state where
our wild and working lands connect us, Dr. Monteith understands and actively serves
the state through his scholarship that informs management decisions and dozens of
public talks that engage our fellow citizens. His ability to engage the conservation
community and land management agencies beyond campus is exceptional.”
Monteith is recognized for his scholarship and teaching in natural resource science.
His research focuses on integrating nutrition, population and quantitative ecology
to understand behavior, resource allocation and life history to reveal the mechanisms
underpinning fitness and population dynamics of large mammals from mule deer and elk
to bighorn sheep, pronghorn and moose.
“Dr. Monteith’s research and mentoring philosophy and approach have aided the conservation
of North America’s ungulates, narrowed the gap between academia and state agencies,
as well as provided a strong foundation for the future of the wildlife profession,”
says UW colleague Joe Holbrook, an assistant professor in the Haub School and the
Department Zoology and Physiology.
Before coming to UW, Monteith received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in wildlife
and fisheries sciences from South Dakota State University and his Ph.D. in biology
from Idaho State University. He has worked with over 30 management agencies and resource
groups, secured over 325 grants and published over 95 journal articles and book chapters
while mentoring 19 graduate students -- six Ph.D. and 13 M.S. degree recipients.
Through comprehensive field studies, scientific output and active engagement with
scientists, stakeholders and the public, Monteith and his team aim to provide meaningful
contributions to the field of wildlife ecology while effectively informing management
decisions. Often, their data are gained through individual-based research and intensive
field studies to gain a mechanistic understanding of what influences large mammals
and how they cope with a changing world. Some of their long-term, cross-generational
work has been a focal point for understanding effects of human disturbance and changing
environmental conditions on various aspects of the animals’ life history, including
migration, resource allocation and reproductive chronology. Monteith actively mentors
a robust and diverse group of graduate and undergraduate students in his research,
and he works to prepare them for impactful careers.
“Kevin exemplifies exceptional service to the wildlife biology profession as evidenced
by his extremely productive research program, dedication to the informational needs
of his cooperators and collaborators, teaching and mentoring activities, and other
professional service,” says Associate Professor Anna Chalfoun, assistant leader of
UW’s Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.
“I am truly honored to be recognized as a Fellow by The Wildlife Society -- though,
truth is, whatever impact we have had has been made possible through the cadre of
talented, passionate and selfless people I have had the privilege to work with in
my career,” Monteith says. “Great mentors and collaborators have made our work robust,
and a broad array of supporters have had the faith and confidence to invest in us
and our work. And my team, though a motley crew at the surface, dare I say is an elite
conglomeration of the most talented, driven and selfless scientists and genuine persons
on the face of the earth. The impact of these people on the wildlife field, and on
my career, is immeasurable.”
