Alyson Courtemanch leads her pack horse after a weeklong pack trip conducting hunter
field checks in the Teton Wilderness near the southern boundary of Yellowstone National
Park last fall.
Photo by Mark Gocke, Wyoming Game and Fish Department
“There are hundreds of dedicated wildlife professionals with UW degrees working across Wyoming, from mountains to plains, on creatures big and small,” says Matt Kauffman, co-op unit director, UW professor and USGS scientist.
Kauffman notes that students are attracted to UW and the co-op unit because of both Wyoming’s world-class wildlife populations and the strength of the university’s program. Many come from other parts of the country not knowing much about the state, but “after two or three years here, they start to look for jobs in Wyoming and the Rockies.”
That was the case with Bob Lanka, a veteran Game and Fish Department leader who came to UW in 1980 after earning his bachelor’s degree from California’s Humboldt State University. “After being here, this is where I wanted to stay,” he says. “Landing a job with Wyoming Game and Fish put the icing on the cake, and I have not seriously considered other opportunities since.”
“There are few places that allow those with a passion for wildlife and wild places to pursue those better than here,” says Lanka, the Game and Fish Department’s supervisor of biological services. “Wildlife and wild places are part of who we are and what we live for. Fortunately, that passion extends beyond those who work for the agency I do to those who work with wildlife for federal agencies, private companies, NGOs and our citizens. Wildlife and open space is part of the fabric of our state. What wildlifer wouldn’t want to be part of that?”
Because the co-op unit’s projects focus on collaborative research that is useful to professional wildlife managers, its graduate students have the opportunity to work in the field with, and be mentored by, those professionals.
“Upon completing graduate school, these students often are hired by the same people they’ve been working with during their projects because they have been able to demonstrate their dedication and competency as biologists,” Kaiser says. “It’s a great system that I hope continues. In my current position, I continue to work with the co-op unit on research projects in my field office. The information they provide through their research is extremely valuable in our public land management.”
“In many cases, the field mentors introduce the students to the whole community and work real closely with them,” Kauffman says. “Current wildlife professionals have had a big role in training new professionals.”
Courtemanch says her graduate research—in particular, the close collaboration with Game and Fish and National Park Service professionals—was invaluable in preparing her for her career.
“My coursework at UW provided me with the scientific foundation necessary to be a Game and Fish biologist, but I learned much more about the value of communication and collaboration from working with the agency biologists,” she says. “These skills have been instrumental in my career so far.”
Training a new generation of wildlife and habitat managers will be crucial as Wyoming and the West contend with challenges related to climate change, energy development, drought, beetle-killed trees and other changes, Kauffman says.
“The landscapes of Wyoming and the West are changing rapidly, in unprecedented ways,” he says. “Students have to learn that these are different landscapes, and that managing these wildlife populations will be different than it was decades ago. How will wildlife respond to changes? That’s what we’ll have to stay on top of in order to help Wyoming maintain abundant wildlife for generations to come.”
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