UW Professor to Discuss Effects of Natural Gas Development Thursday

A University of Wyoming assistant professor of zoology will discuss the potential effects of the rapid expansion of natural gas development for fish and wildlife during a public presentation Thursday, Aug. 7, at the historic Berol Lodge at the AMK Ranch in Grand Teton National Park.

This week’s Harlow Summer Seminars speaker is Annika Walters, an assistant unit leader with the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.

She will discuss “Exploring the Effects of Oil and Gas Development for Aquatic Habitats and Native Fish Communities in the Wyoming Range” at 5:30 p.m. at the AMK Ranch, located north of Leeks Marina. A barbecue, at a cost of $5 per person, will take place at 5:30 p.m.

Walters has conducted research on the sensitivity of streams and their native fish species to energy development in southwest Wyoming’s La Barge oil and gas field.

“We found that aquatic habitat quality is altered by energy development and fish species varied in their sensitivity to energy development,” Walters says. “Improved understanding of the effects of oil and gas development will allow more explicit management and mitigation recommendations for the protection of native fish communities.”

Reservations are not required. For more information, call the UW-NPS Center at (307) 543-2463.

The UW-NPS Research Center provides a base for university faculty members and government scientists from throughout North America to conduct research in the diverse aquatic and terrestrial environments of Grand Teton National Park and the greater Yellowstone area.