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UW’s Monteith Named Fellow of The Wildlife Society

man with captured deer in the snow
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.”

Contact Us

Institutional Communications
Bureau of Mines Building, Room 137
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307) 766-2929
Email: cbaldwin@uwyo.edu


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