winter 2012 cnr alumni magazine

2 | wINTER 2012

10 FEATUREScience Informs

Sage-Grouse DiscussionCNR faculty and staff contribute

expertise to governor’s Sage-Grouse Discussion

This issue focuses on the contributions CNR

faculty and alumni are making to address the

real-world issues, from toxic algae to climate

change, that are facing the state, the country

and the world.

14 COVER STORYStudent Services

Students serve at Risk Teens, as ambassadors and as

liasons to veterans

wINTER 2012

Volume 29 | Number 1NaturalCELEBRATING

6 COVER STORYFostering Success

Student Services Center helps students succeed

RESOURCES


FEATURE 16Attacking Toxic Algae Limnologist Frank wilhelm researches ways to prevent algal blooms

FEATURE 18Communicating Climate Change Social scientist Troy Hall explores methods for communicating complex data to non-scientists

FEATURE 20Biofuels From Forest ProductsPurpose-grown plantations and on-site processing help resolve transportation cost issue

MORE FEATURES

14 Dean Pregitzer Tours State U-Idaho leadership undertakes three-day bus tour to celebrate Morrill Act

15 CNR Brings Foresters to Spokane CNR co-sponsors 93rd Society of American Foresters national convention

STUDENT FEATURES

24 Trapping Snapping Turtles Student tracks turtles to overwintering sites in North Dakota

25 Monitoring Tradition at OX Ranch Students contribute to decades-old data set

26 Summer Experience in Ecuador Develops Robust, Resilient Scientists Integrated student summer research opportunity takes eight students to Andes

26 Reconstructing Fire History in Alaska Students conduct research in Alaskan Arctic

28 CNR Ambassador Addresses President’s Pre-Game Event Attributes academic success to scholarships

28 Foresters Symposium: A Place for Dialogue Dean Pregitzer fosters collaborative interaction with industry

COLLEGE AND ALUMNI AFFAIRS

29 CNR News

30 Letter From CNR Alumni Board

31 Changes in the College

32 2012 Awards

34 Class Notes

35 In Memory

36 Faculty and Staff Highlights

38 Giving Back

FEATURE 22Ridge to Reef Conservation in Belize CNR alumna wins major conservation prize, named to Cabinet in Belize

TABLE OF CONTENTS |

4 | wINTER 2012

innovative programs

PHOTO FROM “SUMMER ExPERIENCE IN ECUADOR”

FEATURED ON PG. 26.

Magazine StaffThe College of Natural Resources magazine is published annually for alumni of CNR. Subscription is free. The magazine also is available online in its entirety on the College’s website, www.uidaho.edu/cnr.

Kurt Pregitzer, deanJill Maxwell, editor/writerSteven Hacker, director of developmentAaron Miles, alumni board of trustees

CNR Alumni NewsUniversity of Idaho875 Perimeter Drive MS 1142Moscow, ID 83844-1142E-mail: [email protected]

Design and layout Beth Case, University of Idaho, Creative Services


Dear CNR Colleagues and Friends:

This issue of Celebrating Natural Resources provides you with a look at how the College of Natural Resources faculty and staff members have been working throughout the year to ad-dress local, national, and international issues.

Our cover story is about the CNR Student Services Center, and the innovative programs our dedicated staff have implemented to foster the success of all students. with the help of our donors, the College has created a new study center for students in the basement of the CNR building. Meanwhile, our Student Ambassador program is in its second year, and this year’s team of 11 ambassadors is playing a key role in recruiting new students. A Veterans Liaison position has been added to the ambassador team to focus on supporting current and incom-ing veterans.

Our efforts are paying off! Undergraduate enrollment in CNR is now at 540 students, an increase of 8.9 percent. Finally, we have begun a Success Strategies class to help students succeed while at school, and a CNR Career series of speakers to help them envision their lives after graduation.

Our features section focuses on faculty who are deeply engaged with using science to inform decisions about the environmental challenges we face. For example, you will learn how a team of CNR faculty made substantial contributions to help Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter’s Sage-Grouse Task Force develop a conservation strategy for sage-grouse. A feature on forests and biofuels illustrates how we are investigating ways to develop new markets for wood products in the Northwest. Other features demonstrate how one CNR scientist is trying to find ways to prevent toxic algae blooms, while another is working to translate complex scientific data into meaningful information for forest managers. You will also learn about alumna, Liselle Alamilla ’95. Not only was she named Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and Sustainable Development in her native Belize in March, but in July she was awarded the 2012 whitley Fund for Nature, one of the world’s most prestigious conservation awards.

Finally, we have two articles celebrating our accomplishments: a feature on U-Idaho President M. Duane Nellis’ Morrill Act Bus Tour, conducted in celebration of legislation that created the nationwide system of land-grant universities, and a feature about the Society of American Foresters Convention, which was held in Spokane this year.

Programs here in the College of Natural Resources reach across the country and around the world. Our student section details how current graduate and undergraduate students are conducting research in places such as the Alaskan Arctic and the Ecuadoran highlands. Stu-dent projects range from monitoring vegetation on an Idaho ranch, to building a database of snapping turtle overwintering sites for North Dakota, to collecting genetic information from Andean bears. Our students are impressive, and they are our future.

Best wishes,

innovative programs

DEAN’S LETTER |

6 | wINTER 2012

First year students often arrive at college with lofty visions of where they will be when they graduate, but sometimes they have limited skills to navigate the

path to their future. Piloting them toward success is the work of the CNR Student Services Center.

Dean Kurt Pregitzer is proud of the CNR Student Services Center, now in its second year. “we all really care about our students,” said Pregitzer. “The entire CNR family is dedicated to the professional development of students and we have a legacy of training leading natural resources managers.”

“Our concept is ladders rather than filters,” Pregitzer added, “and the Student Services Center is all about helping people grow and develop.”

“we are helping transition young men and women to indepen-dence,” said Student Services Director, Heather Page. “Ulti-mately our goal is to increase the success of students and of CNR.”

Page and the rest of the Center’s passionately dedicated staff, Paulette House and Lynaire Banks, have implemented several innovative strategies to recruit students to the College of Natural Resources and retain them once they arrive.

Success StrategiesFor her inaugural Success Strategies class, Page hand-selected incoming CNR students with a potential for leadership and service to participate. One of the course goals is to connect students to the variety of campus support services that are available to them. Sometimes, that takes creative thinking. For example, Page implemented a series of field trips to campus-

Fostering Success

based student support providers such as the writing Center. “I realized that students were not identifying with the resources available to them,” she said. “I think if they have a meaningful experience with one of U-Idaho’s support programs, they will use it.”

Developing leadership and peer support skills is another goal of the class. Students have diverse backgrounds and a variety of perspectives about best practices for the sustainable man-agement of natural resources. Page encourages them to work together because she believes that learning to collaborate will put them well on the path to successful careers. “If they can’t figure out how to deal with diverse opinions here,” she asked, “how are they going to do it out in the world?”

The Success Strategies class is focused on teaching students how to excel and is part of a scholarship program. “If you are passionate, that can motivate you to be successful,” Page said. Participants who maintain a 3.30 GPA and obtain sopho-more standing by the end of second semester, will be eligible for a scholarship. In the meantime, Page’s students tell her they are happy to be part of the class because they are learn-ing skills they haven’t had the opportunity to master before. For Page, that, in itself, is a measure of success.

On-site TutoringAnother Student Services retention strategy is the creation of an official Natural Resources Tutoring Study Center in the basement of CNR. Three afternoons a week, students can seek out tutors in specific natural resources courses. They can also find tutors in introductory art, chemistry and biology classes. These courses are typically a struggle for

| COVER STORY


“We are helping transition young men and women to independence,” says Student

Services Director, Heather Page. “Ultimately our goal is to

increase the success of students and of CNR.”

Photos by Holli Sampson

8 | wINTER 2012

incoming CNR students, whom Page describes as passionate about working in the outdoors. “Art is a new type of subject matter for many of them,” she explained. “Chemistry and biol-ogy are big lecture classes, intense and impersonal. Sometimes it’s difficult for our hands-on learners to connect with the ma-terial. we know that these classes are important to a natural resource curriculum, so we want to offer support for students when they need it.”

The tutoring center is a collaborative effort between CNR, which provides the space, and U-Idaho’s Tutoring and Academ-ic Assistance Program, which provides the tutors.

AmbassadorsThe Student Services Ambassadors program, modeled after a similar effort in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, was formulated by Lynaire Banks in the spring of 2011 and handed off to recruiting coordinator Paulette House last fall. This year 11 students are representing CNR at on-campus and off-campus events and activities and connecting with prospec-tive students from high schools throughout Idaho, washington and Oregon.

The ambassadors encourage students to consider higher edu-cation for themselves, share a glimpse of what it’s like to be a college student, and get potential students excited about the opportunities the College of Natural Resources has to offer.

The ambassadors also find a variety of ways to engage students when they arrive on campus. Ambassadors assist new students with registration, provide them with needed information, and serve as positive role models. They also design and facilitate hands-on activities for visiting student groups and on-campus recruitment events, and they assist the Student Services Center with the organizational aspects of recruitment and retention. For example, at an Envision Idaho event in October, potential students got a taste of radio telemetry and soil sampling. Dur-ing Ag Days, participants made a board out of recycled materi-als in CNR Associate Dean Tom Gorman’s Forest Products Lab.

House describes the program as a “win-win” for everyone involved. CNR is able to expand its programming by reaching prospective students and providing the support structure to re-tain them. Student ambassadors cultivate their skills as leaders – practicing public speaking, organizing and leading activities, sharing their experiences and inspiring others in the process.

Veterans LiaisonRecognizing the high number of student veterans within CNR and feeling inadequate to support them, the Student Services Center created a specialized role within the ambassador team. During a program review last year, staff realized they had a large number of vets, whom they didn’t feel qualified to help. “In some ways it is difficult for our vets to feel comfortable seeking advice from us when we don’t have that military ex-perience. They have situations in their everyday lives that may impact their academic success. we wanted to make sure our vets were as connected and supported as any other student in CNR, and we knew that it would take someone with that military experience to help us offer the necessary support for our vets,” explained Page.

The ideal veterans liaison ambassador was found in Melissa McClenny, a wildlife resources student who served with the Army as a medic for 5 ½ years. “I knew there was a need,” said McClenny. “CNR has one of the highest veteran popula-tions on campus, if not the highest.”

She’s going through the amabassadors’ extensive training as well as learning about other resources available to veterans. Some of the most complicated issues that veterans face are related to the GI-Bill and/or to disability claims. McClenny says her role is not to provide information to student veterans, but, rather, to direct them to where they can get answers. She hopes the program eventually will become a model for the university.

House and McClenny are working closely with Dan Button, the U-Idaho veterans advisor. “I fully support the idea,” he said. “I think it’s wonderful.” Once students get to the Veterans Cen-ter they can be connected with other support services, such as the Career Center and the writing Center, which are located nearby. “All these tools, all the programs that can help people succeed are here,” he said.

The goal for the student services staff is to continue to recruit high quality students to CNR and to retain and support those same students through graduation. Their work is paying off. To-tal undergraduate enrollment increased 8.9 percent this year.

Ultimately, fostering student success is the goal. One of the largest challenges staff faces is simply the lack of enough time to do everything they want to do for their students. “If we just had more time to do everything we want to do. …wow,” Page said.

FOSTERING SUCCESS |


McClenny says her role is not to provide information to student veterans, but rather, to direct them to where they can get answers. She hopes

the program eventually will become a model for

the university.

10 | wINTER 2012

Greater sage-grouse (Cen-trocercus urophasianus) were once widespread

within the sagebrush-grassland eco-systems of western North America, but their populations have declined since the mid-1960s. The sage-grouse was petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), but the U.S. Fish and wildlife Service, or USFwS, concluded in 2010 that the species was “war-ranted but precluded” from listing.

Litigation followed, and the USFwS is required to make a final listing determination in 2015. The USFwS finding indicated that the major threats to sage-grouse are habitat loss and the lack of regulatory mechanisms to prevent loss and fragmentation of habitat.

This year, Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter established a 15-person task force to study the sage-grouse issue, and

Science Informs Sage-Grouse Discussionrecommend how the state could better manage sage-grouse to prevent their decline. The University of Idaho’s Policy Analysis Group, or PAG, its new Rangeland Center, and faculty in the College of Natural Resources teamed up to de-liver critical information that helped the task force develop its recommendations.

“Sage-grouse are a big deal,” said Jay O’Laughlin, director of PAG. “If the bird is listed on the federal ESA, the FwS will need to designate critical habitat. That will have an impact on future energy development and grazing in the state.”

To preempt listing in Idaho, the state will need to accom-plish two key goals: create a plan to stem habitat loss and demonstrate to the federal government that it has codi-fied and will enforce adequate regulatory requirements to protect sage-grouse habitat.

“Habitat management means sagebrush management,” said O’Laughlin. “Sage-grouse cannot live without sagebrush.”

Sage-grouse are highly mobile. A single bird will travel an area approximately the size of Rhode Island over a one-year

10 | wINTER 2012

| FEATURE


Science Informs Sage-Grouse Discussionperiod. Because most of that travel is on the ground, the grouse need sagebrush to hide from predators – and young grouse need the grasslands, which explains why fire is a threat to the birds. Fire changes the grouse’s habitat by killing the sagebrush. when sagebrush dies, invasive plants like cheat-grass take over. It can take several decades for the sagebrush to recover.

O’Laughlin worked with a subcommittee of the sage-grouse task force that focused on wildfire and invasive species threats. To identify the sagebrush areas most at risk of fire, he turned to colleague Eva Strand, assistant professor of forest, rangeland, and fire sciences and an expert on fire and the use of geospatial tools. Strand developed maps showing where the potential impacts were greatest, and O’Laughlin present-ed those maps to a keenly interested task force.

O’Laughlin also showed the task force a map of the spaghet-ti-like road system on U.S. Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, lands. The road data was important, O’Laughlin ex-plained, because the BLM manages 60 percent of sage-grouse

lands in Idaho, and because to manage wildland fires you have to gain access to remote areas.

“Management means roads,” he said, “but roads in sage-grouse habitat are a huge problem. If you go off road in a vehicle, a catalytic converter could start a fire ... most fires on rangelands are started by humans.”

Generally, roads and sage-grouse are at odds. In addition to the increased fire risk, roads break up habitat, result in more noise and enable people to access sage-grouse areas. Yet, roads may have an upside as well. Because roads are already devegetated, they can be used as a fuel break if the roadside vegetation is managed so that fires can’t jump. “Identifying roads is going to be a key part to keeping fires from getting too big,” O’Laughlin said.

COLLEGE OF NATURAL RESOURCES | 11Sage grouSe photoS by tatiana gettelman

12 | wINTER 2012

Identifying the right roads to focus fire management treatments on will be a difficult task. There are 15 million acres of sage-grouse habitat in Idaho, and 10 million acres of that is prime sage-grouse habitat.

Ultimately, the task force’s recommendations included adopting mecha-nisms for managing the size of fires, such as creating fuel breaks in strategic locations along existing roads, and identifying and targeting higher-risk roads for fuel break construction and maintenance based on fire history maps. Those recommendations are included in the “Federal Alternative of Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter for Greater Sage-Grouse Management in Idaho,” released Sept. 5, 2012.

As with roads, many people see grazing and sage-grouse protection as incompatible practices. But U-Idaho rangeland scientist Karen Launchbaugh believes grazing can be another tool for conserving grouse habitat. She

Brett Dumas – Environmental Supervisor with Idaho Power | Eva Strand - Assistant Professor, Department of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, University of Idaho | Gene Gray – wildlife Technician, Idaho Fish and Game | Jack Connelly – Principle wildlife Research Biologist with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game | Jay O’Laughlin, Director, Policy Analysis Group, Expert Consultant to Task Force

CNR alumni and faculty involved

with the sage-grouse issue.

12 | wINTER 2012


was asked by the task force to provide expert testimony on using grazing to reduce fire. Launchbaugh spoke about using grazing to create fire breaks to prevent fires from spreading across grouse territory unchecked. The final draft report also calls for the use of grazing as a management tool.

The sage-grouse task force’s ultimate goal is to get the state’s management recommendations, about how to manage sage-grouse habitat, incorporated into the BLM’s Resource Management Plan by 2014.

O’Laughlin believes CNR and PAG are uniquely positioned to provide objec-tive input into complex issues such as this one. In this case, the sage-grouse task force represented stakeholders from a large number of federal, state, local, private and nonprofit organizations. “U-Idaho is not a stakeholder,” he said. “That puts it in a general position to be trusted.” n


Jeff Foss – Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Deputy Director, Resource Services. | Karen Launchbaugh – Director, Rangeland Center, University of Idaho | Brian Kelly – Idaho State Supervisor, U.S. Fish and wildlife Service | Jason Pyron – U.S. Fish and wildlife Service, Conservation Partnerships Program biologist | Mike Scott – Emeritus Faculty, Department of Fish and wildlife Sciences, Endangered Species Act expert | Tom Perry – Counsel to Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter | wally Butler – Idaho Farm Bureau Federation.

14 | wINTER 2012

Dean Pregitzer Tours State with U-Idaho leadership team

In late July, U-Idaho President M. Duane Nellis took his leadership team on a three-day bus tour of university-affiliated research, natural resources, and agricultural

operations around the state. Conducted in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, the goal of the tour was to strengthen connections between U-Idaho and local com-munities and increase awareness among educational leaders of the needs of area students and industries.

The tour began with a stop at the Idaho Forest Group (IFG) Mill in Grangeville, which employs several Vandal alumni. “The IFG Mill is state-of-the-art,” said Dean Kurt Pregitzer. “The entire U-Idaho leadership team was impressed by the technology and wide variety of expertise necessary to operate the facility.”

The tour’s next stopping point was the McCall Outdoor Sci-ence School, or MOSS. Pregitzer gave a tour of the campus and provided participants with the opportunity to talk to U-Idaho graduate students about their educational experiences and research. On the final day, the group toured the Hager-man Aquaculture Research Institute, which was established in 1988 to provide a focus for aquaculture research at the University of Idaho.

Other stops included the Kelly whitewater Park in the town of Cascade, a tour around Hailey and the U-Idaho Exten-sion Office, the Purdy Ranch in Picabo, the Si-Ellen Dairy in Jerome, and the Kimberly Research and Extension Center.

About the Morrill ActThe Morrill Act, enacted in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln, created the nationwide system of land-grant uni-versities, which profoundly changed higher education in the United States by making college available to all Americans regardless of socio-economic class, religion or ethnicity. Sponsored by Congressman Justin Morrill of Vermont, the act gave every state that remained in the Union during the Civil war a grant of 30,000 acres of public land for every member of its congressional delegation. In turn, the states were to sell this land and use the proceeds to establish colleges in engineering, agriculture, natural resources and military sci-ence. Over seventy “land-grant” colleges, as they eventually came to be known, were established under the original Morrill Act; a second act in 1890 extended the land grant provisions to the sixteen Southern states. There are now 105 land-grant institutions in the country.

The University of Idaho was established as a land-grant univer-sity in 1889. Today, U-Idaho maintains its land-grant directed mission of teaching, research and outreach through an exten-sive network of 70 locations spread across the state. n

The goal of the tour was to strengthen connections between U-Idaho and local communities and increase awareness among educational leaders of the needs of area students and industries.


Dean Pregitzer Tours State with U-Idaho leadership team

CNR Brings Foresters to Spokane

More than 1,600 forestry professionals converged on the Spokane Convention Center in October to learn about managing forests for resilience in

the face of changing natural resources demands and a chang-ing climate. CNR co-sponsored the 93rd Society of American Foresters national convention.

Dean Kurt Pregitzer said it was important to help sponsor the convention because of CNR’s long legacy of training great for-esters. Pregitzer was also the co-chair of the Program Com-mittee, along with Russell Graham, USDA Rocky Mountain Research Station Research Forester and CNR alumnus.

The convention offered nearly 300 scientific and technical programs that explored how to foster resiliency both in forests and in the people caring for forests. In the opening

keynote address, Stephen J. Pyne, senior sustainability scientist with the Global Institute of Sustainability and regents’ professor at the Arizona State University School of Life Sciences, provided a historical overview of the fire of 1910, as well as a discussion of the social and political consequences of the fire suppression policies that have developed over the past century and how those and other federal land management policies have influenced the forests of today in the Pacific Northwest.

Associate professor of hydrology Tim Link led a sold-out field trip through the Mica Creek Experimental watershed in the scenic St. Joe River area (below). The Mica Creek Study, now in its 20th year, examines the effectiveness of contemporary forest practices on stream flow, sediment, nutrients, stream temperature, and the aquatic ecology of headwater streams in northern Idaho. This study has yielded a wealth of infor-mation that is being broadly communicated to the forest management and research communities.

The study evaluates forest practice regulations and harvest activities in a truly “working” watershed. Participants dis-cussed the site history, visited the harvest units and roads being evaluated in the study, and discussed the research instrumentation being used. n

FEATURES |

16 | wINTER 2012

Toxic Algae

The problemBlue-green algae, also known as Cyanobacteria, aren’t actually algae. Rather, they are a kind of bacteria that use sunlight to create food. Cyanobacteria can live in terrestrial, fresh, brackish, or marine water. Usually, they are not a problem for humans. Unfortunately, under the right conditions, they can form huge toxic colonies, called algal blooms. Exposure to Cyanobacteria has been linked to human and animal illnesses around the world. They produce some of the most potent toxins known, includ-ing toxins that attack the liver (hepatotoxins), nervous system (neurotoxins) and skin (dermatoxins).

“It’s a serious issue,” says wilhelm, “and one that is des-tined to get worse as demands on our water resources increase, as precipitation declines, and as summers get hotter. The expectation is that these toxic blooms will

increase. The number of water bodies that are currently closed is phenomenal.”

The Clean water Act, established by the federal govern-ment in 1972, was implemented to prevent lakes from getting more polluted. Unfortunately, it’s been 40 years and lake algal blooms are still an issue. The CwA has done a good job of regulating point-source pollution, which comes from sources such as water treatment plants and drain pipes; but managing non-point source pollution, which comes from sources such as runoff from roads, parking lots and golf courses, is more dif-ficult.

Changes in the landscape have resulted in changes in the amounts of nutrients in our water bodies. Specifi-cally, wilhelm says, runoff often changes the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorous in the water, and the result is

Blue-green algae on the surfaces of many of our lakes and ponds in the late summer is more than an unsavory nuisance. Exposure to it can make humans seriously ill and kill wildlife, livestock and

pets. Well aware of the unpleasantness of these algal blooms, U-Idaho limnologist Frank Wilhelm is trying to find a way to prevent them from occurring. But, the solution he’s found is currently banned by the national Clean Water Act (CWA). So, what’s a scientist supposed to do?

Attacking


Toxic Algaethe carpets of potentially toxic green scum that occasionally cover our lakes. Not only do we have to address the runoff issues more effectively, we also have to protect our surface water by developing more effective lake man-agement strategies. This is what wilhelm is trying to do.

The experimentIn order to look into new ways to prevent algal blooms, wilhelm needed to recreate the conditions under which they occur. But, it’s difficult to recreate lake environments in a university laboratory. The solution? Mesocosms. Also called enclosures, mesocosms are basically large vertical tubes that are suspended down into a body of water. They separate the water inside the tube from the water outside the tube, without drastically changing the conditions of ei-ther environment. In his research at willow Creek Reservoir in Oregon, wilhelm used large mesocosms, with a capacity of approximately 70,000 liters.

Algal blooms occur when phosphorus levels in stagnant water bodies get too high. wilhelm hypothesized that algal blooms could be prevented by restoring a lake’s ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus. He thinks this ratio is more impor-tant than the actual amount of either element by itself. His experiments revolved around adding nitrogen to the water in his mesocosms.

wilhelm had the help of several students (two graduate students and four undergraduates) over the course of the experiment. “I’ve done all this with my students, and they have been an integral part of this project,” he said. Over three summers, he and his students ran three experiments at willow Creek.

Year 1 – They established the mesocosms, but made no changes to the water inside. This was the control year.

Year 2 – They added nitrogen to the water inside the me-socosms after the algal bloom occurred. within a week the toxins and algal bloom were gone.

Year 3 – They added aluminum sulfate to the water inside the mesocosms to reduce the phosphate levels. “we found out something really interesting,” he said. “The treatment also dropped out the nitrogen.” However, the distorted ratio of nitrogen to phosphate that caused the bloom in the first place didn’t change. “So we spiked it with a little nitrogen and got the same result as Year Two,” he said. “The bloom disap-peared. In fact, after we added the nitrogen, we had clearer water than we had before we started.”

What next?Unfortunately, what seems to work is also explicitly banned under the aegis of the CwA, which precludes adding nitrogen to water because it is a considered a nutrient. wilhelm is philosophical about the interplay between science and regu-lation. Potentially, he says, some changes in regulations may be needed, but the issue will have to make its way through the regulatory process. “It’s kind of an interesting question – proposing to add a nutrient which is banned under the CwA,” he said. “So some education is needed. The body of evidence will have to get to a certain state – which takes a long time.”

In addition, more research about the risks of adding nitrogen to water bodies is needed. Potentially, there may be some unintended consequences, although a review of existing scientific literature on the issue has suggested that there’s no evidence of increased amounts of nitrogen causing a prob-lem. “Opinions are very divided in the scientific community,” wilhelm said. “Some scientists say nitrogen is a problem, others aren’t so sure. That’s a healthy scientific debate. ... The best remedy is not to put (phosphates) into the environment in the first place.” n

Attacking

FEATURE |

18 | wINTER 2012

These are the questions that interest conservation social sciences Professor Troy Hall, an expert in communicating science to non-scientists. For Hall,

developing effective methods for sharing scientific informa-tion to a general audience is critical, especially when it comes to findings and predictions on climate change. She said that unless scientific discoveries are communicated to the public, they won’t have any impact.

Currently, Hall and a team of CNR faculty and graduate stu-dents are grappling with a twofold issue: how to quantify the ways the ecosystem of the northern Rockies will change as the global climate changes, and how to effectively share this information with the stakeholders who need it to make future land management and community planning decisions.

As the social scientist on the team, Hall’s part of the puzzle is to develop workshops as a forum for sharing information about the impacts of climate change with regional forest-ers. She says communicating climate change information presents special challenges. For one thing, scenarios about the future are developed from models using current data, and there is an inherent level of uncertainty in these models, which can feed skepticism. Doubt about the accuracy of the models can prevent people from taking action.

Presenting data at an appropriate scale is also a challenge. “An additional issue forest managers face,” said Hall, “is that the information they are getting is global, not local. Regional man-agers say, ‘I know climate is changing, but how do I link that to managing this forest? I know the forests are dying. It’s quite clear that there’s a trend. The question is, how do I respond?’”

So Hall’s challenge is to find mechanisms for presenting scientific information in ways that are understandable and ac-cessible to non-scientists.

She thinks the workshop model developed by the Northern Rockies Team will be an effective way to improve the com-munication of information to multiple stakeholders. Manag-ers are hungry for any information they can get, says Hall, because they are dealing with increasingly complex issues at the same time that their staffs have been downsized because of federal budget cuts.

And while natural resources managers may want informa-tion about climate change, other stakeholders may be more difficult to reach. “People are a real challenge,” Hall said. “They don’t tend to act consistently. we don’t really know what factors cause people to accept or reject an idea.”

As technology improves, Hall is hopeful that communicating complex climate-change scenarios will become easier. Down the road, she’s interested in doing some visualizations that will show people in realistic ways what a landscape will look like under different climate scenarios. Visualizations could also help land managers see how some of their management tools would be affected by different average temperatures and precipitation amounts.

The Northern Rockies Team research and workshops are be-ing conducted as part of a $3.2 million grant by the National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (IGERT). The project, entitled “Evaluating Resilience of Ecological and Social Systems in Changing Landscapes of Costa Rica and Idaho,” supports 24 doctoral students in Idaho and Costa Rica.

Idaho’s team includes: Professor Troy Hall, Professor Penny Morgan, Associate Professor Tim Link, Assistant Professor Alistair Smith, and students Jared Blades, Zion Klos, Kerry Kemp and wade Tinkham. n

Climate ChangeHow do scientists think about science?

How do different scientists conceptualize questions differently? Where do people’s attitudes come from?

Communicating

| FEATURE


Regional managers say, “I know climate is changing,

but how do I link that to managing this forest? I know

the forests are dying. It’s quite clear that there’s a

trend. The question is, how do I respond?”

20 | wINTER 2012

Bioenergy from biomass offers alternative fuel oppor-tunities for an energy-hungry world. But, not without risks. we can’t use food crops for fuel if it increases

food prices. we can’t turn managed forests into fuel if forest production is not sustainable.

These are a some of the problems proponents of biofuels wrestle with, and something that U-Idaho associate profes-sor of forest resources Mark Coleman has been mulling over. His interests are in developing biofuels from forest products. He says it can be done responsibly and sustainably, if certain problems can be resolved.

The Pacific Northwest, or PNw is rich in forests. However, many of its public forests need to be thinned to protect them from insects, drought and fire. In many of its private forests, logging operations create huge volumes of residue. Often this forest residue is burned on-site, releasing carbon into the atmosphere. Coleman would like to see this residue put to a more environmentally appropriate use.

These materials are excellent sources of biomass; however, in order to make converting them into biofuels a reality, the process has to be economically viable. Historically, one of the biggest blocks to profitability has been transportation costs.

“The problem with using forest residue is that it’s not central-ized – it’s scattered,” Coleman explained. “Transport to the conversion facility is a logistical difficulty.”

There are two ways to solve the transportation problem. You can grow trees around the processing facility, or you can take the processor to the forests. Coleman is currently involved in research projects examining both possibilities.

Purpose-grown plantationsA purpose-grown plantation is very much like an agricultural crop. The idea is to grow a woody bioenergy crop and harvest it. The crop consists of fast-growing trees planted at close spacing and cut by a specialized harvester every two to three years. The harvested material is transported to a centrally located plant where the wood will be converted to energy through biochemical processes. “we can actually grow the material around the plant, avoiding the need to transport it very far,” said Coleman.

In the processing plant, the two primary ingredients of wood, lignin and cellulose, are separated. The cellulose is broken up into smaller molecules with an acidic treatment. Microbes are used to break these smaller molecules down and convert them into ethylene, which, in turn, can be used to produce fu-els. The lignin portion goes to a power plant to make electric-ity. The process converts 100 percent of the biomass into fuel so the energy input is low compared to the energy produced.

After the harvest, the roots will rapidly sprout new shoots, Coleman explained, adding that the system can be sustained for six to eight cuttings before the roots need to be replaced.

This model is currently being developed as part of a large USDA-funded demonstration project on 20,000 acres near Boardman, Ore., and other locations throughout the PNw.

On-site processingA much larger source for bioenergy is the standing forest. As a result of several decades of fire suppression, many forests on public lands have too many small trees and too much vegetation on the ground. Excessive numbers of small trees

Biofuels from Forest Products Resolving the transportation problem

| FEATURE


compete with one another for water, nutrients and sunlight. This concerns forest managers and scientists who say these conditions put forests at increased risk of wildfire and make them more vulnerable to diseases and insect infestations. while they acknowledge the problem, they are not able to address it at the scale required. For example, the state of washington has declared that its forests need to be thinned, but small trees have limited economic value, which means that pre-commercial thinning doesn’t occur in all forests. Foresters have an incentive to thin because the resulting forest would reach commercial size faster and be healthier, but they usually can’t afford to take the young trees out.

“This material could go to a biofuel market and potentially pay for the thinning,” said Coleman. “But, since we don’t currently have that market, the thinning doesn’t happen — because of the expense.”

One way to develop a market is to reduce costs so that thinning can be a profitable activity. Portable pyrolysis units might provide a solution. These units are essentially small-scale, transportable, processors that can convert biomass to biofuel on-site – reducing the cost of transporting material to a processing plant.

Pyrolysis units create three products and use 100 percent of the woody debris fed into them. The first product is bio-oil — a crude oil-like substance that can be converted into other kinds of fuel. The second product is syngas — a volatile gas composed of methane, carbon monoxide and hydrogen. These gases are routed back into the units where they are used to heat the furnace. The third product is biochar — a type of charcoal.

Biofuels from Forest Products

There are commercial markets for both bio-oil and biochar. Biochar has many of agricultural applications as well. It can be used to aerate and increase soil pH, increase water and nutri-ent retention and improve structure for the roots. It also can be turned back into the soil, which adds carbon back into the system, improving its biological quality.

with portable pyrolysis, Coleman believes a biofuel produc-tion system that stores more carbon than it produces could be created. Also, he said, the process of thinning trees can improve the quality of the remaining trees and soil, while improving resistance to disease, insects and fire.

The technology behind portable pyrolysis, however, is still under development. Existing pyrolysis units are a work in progress. For instance, the unit owned by the College of Natural Resources is small enough to fit on a trailer. It’s highly portable, but it can only process one-half ton of biomass a day. “A full-sized unit would need to convert thirty tons a day or more,” said Coleman. “So the size of the pyrolysis unit would have to be scaled up – like a modular factory.” He envisions a day when a national forest has multiple units that it moves around as needed.

while neither on-site processing nor purpose-grown plantations are complete solutions to the nation’s energy woes, Coleman believes biofuels from forest products can be an environmen-tally friendly part of the answer. Each approach has advantages. Purpose-grown plantations can be used for biofuel production, but they don’t address the need to thin forests. Foresters are interested in portable pyrolysis. “They would use the technol-ogy if it were viable,” he said. “They currently don’t have good ways to remove residue cheaply, so they burn it.” n

Bio-‐oil

Forest (pretreatment) Syngas Recycled as process fuel

Forest (postreatment)

CO2 CO2

CO2 CO2

CO2

Transport Energy Coproducts (oil) Industry

Atmospheric CO2

Pyrolysis Unit

22 | wINTER 2012

CONSERvATION IN BElIzE

CNR alumna Lisel Alamilla (’95) has been named as a recipient of the 2012 whitley Fund for Nature award, one of world’s most prestigious

conservation prizes. The award wasn’t the only recognition Alamilla received in 2012. In March, she became the first woman ever appointed as Belize’s Minister of Fisheries, For-estry, and Sustainable Development. Her portfolio includes climate change and protected areas.

Alamilla’s award stems from her inspirational leadership of the Ya’axché Conservation Trust and from her dedication to community-led conservation and sustainable development. Before being appointed as Minister, she served as executive director of the trust, which manages 300,000 acres, including two parcels of pristine natural forests in what is known as the Maya Golden Landscape region, in southern Belize.

Known for its biodiversity, the fragile landscape is vital habitat to more than 3,000 plant species, 110 mammals, 400 birds and 92 reptiles and amphibians. Alamilla has worked since 2006 to unite the people of the region, helping them weather such pressures as population growth, agricultural change and increased demand for natural resources — while simul-taneously helping them to protect the area’s world-class scenery, wildlife and cultural traditions. “The trust works at a landscape level, not at a site level,” said Alamilla. “The trust protects one of the last remaining corridors. It connects the ridges to the reef in Central America.”

Alamilla’s career has been marked by a commitment to sustainable development and a passion for conserva-tion. She has said that early in her career, she learned the importance of being the voice of the voiceless and making invisible people visible. “what really motivates me to the core is how the people will be affected. How their lives will be affected,” she said. “Development happens. we need to ensure that people are the priority.”

Alamilla earned a master’s degree in conservation social sciences in the College of Natural Resources. She was one of 15 students from Central America who participated in the University of Idaho Regional Office of Central American Pro-gram, or ROCAP, Scholars program. The program, directed by Sam Ham, conservation social sciences professor, was financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Regional Office of Central American Programs.

Alamilla said her time at U-Idaho was formative. “without that experience, I am certain I wouldn’t be the professional I am.”

The ROCAP Scholars program is still touted in international development circles as one of the most successful degree programs ever conducted at a single university. n

Ridge to Reef


The program was funded by the U.S. Agency for In-ternational Development’s Regional Office of Central American Programs, hence ROCAP.

“It’s become quite famous,” said Ham. “It got great reviews. The model is still talked about.” The reason for its success, he said, is that quality students were selected, and that they all went to one university, and to one department, primarily due to Ham’s insistence. “I argued that team-building was necessary. It would facilitate networking after they returned to Central America.”

Where are they now?William A. Maheia – Belize: Executive director, Founder of the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) based in Belize

Ana D. Hoare – Belize: Communications officer for UNICEF

Carlos Chacon – Costa Rica: Coordinator, Private Lands Conservation and Sustainable Harvests Strategy, The Nature Conservancy – Northern Andes/Southern Central America Conservation Program

Zoila Moncada – Honduras: Environmental educator and biology teacher at Universidad Pedagógica Nacional Fran-cisco Morazán at Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Natalia Zamora – Costa Rica: Director of Institutional Issues, National Biodiversity Institute-Costa Rica

Rita Spadafora – Panama: Currently working with two private environmental enterprises. Formerly, mission en-vironmental officer and project management specialist for USAID´s environmental activities in Panama

Flora C. Mejía Medina – Honduras: Professor of biology at the National University of Honduras, consultant in envi-ronmental education and ecotourism

Lisel Alamilla – Belize: Minister of Fisheries, Forestry, and Sustainable Development

Magda (Lopez) Baregala – Guatemala, currently living in Houston: Stay-at-home mother

Jaimi Bustillo-Pon – Honduras: Currently living in Mon-treal: Independent environmental consultant

Magali Jurado – Panama: Adviser to the Municipality of the City of Panama Engineering and Urban Planning Divi-sions

Suyapa Dominguez Merlo – Honduras: Currently living in Montreal: Project coordinator at eVision

Luis Furlan – Guatemala: Executive director, Tri-national Alliance for the Conservation of the Gulf of Honduras (TRIGOH)

Claudia Santizo – Guatemala: Protected area manager, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources

Silvia Perez – El Salvador: Environmental educator

ROCAP SCHOlARS UPDATE

The ROCAP Scholars program was directed by U-Idaho conservation social sciences Professor Sam Ham. He recruited 15 promising young professionals from a pool of 120 candidates. They all came to the U-Idaho, and, in 1995, they all received master’s

degrees. They have gone on to become successful lawyers, teachers, consultants and development professionals.

The ROCAP Scholars program still is touted in international development circles as one

of the most successful degree programs ever conducted at a

single university.

FEATURES |

24 | wINTER 2012

Losing your fingers is not a risk that many people have to take while pursuing a graduate degree, but environ-mental sciences graduate student Christopher Dekker

says he had a few close calls while trapping snapping turtles in North Dakota over the summer.

Dekker was trapping and tagging the snappers as his mas-ter’s research project to ascertain where the powerful turtles nest and lay eggs. In order to build a data set of the species’ statewide distribution, Dekker is hoping to capture snapping turtles from at least one water body in every county in North Dakota before his project is complete.

Snapping turtles are not the most pleasant creatures to work with. They are known for their nasty disposition when out of the water, their powerful beak-like jaws and sharp claws, and their highly mobile head and neck.

Dekker and University of North Dakota student Zachary Kjos fit all the turtles they captured over the summer with a bright orange ID tag. To do this, they drilled a hole through the turtle’s shell and bolted the tag to the shell. Thirty-seven of the turtles were also equipped with radio transmitters.

Most of the turtles were uncooperative. “when we were doing the work, one of us would keep the turtle focused on a stick or cattail while the other person worked on attaching the tags,” said Dekker, adding that he and Kjos now sport a few turtle-claw-induced scars.

Using the radio transmitters, Dekker will return to North Dakota and determine where the turtles are hibernating under the ice. He’ll record the water temperature and dissolved oxy-gen levels at the overwintering sites.

In the future, if fisheries biologists encounter a snapping turtle that has been tagged, they will record the information so that it can become part of the state’s database on snapping turtles. North Dakota Game and Fish, or NDFG, funded the project be-cause the state has limited life-history data about the turtles, fewer than 100 data points from the last 20-30 years.

“we want to know what our turtles are doing,” said Pat Isaakson, NDFG non-game biologist, adding that the data will help North Dakota wildlife managers in the future if they do introduce conservation measures.

Dekker hopes to wrap up field work by August of next year. Then he’ll compile the data and produce a profile of snap-ping turtle activity in North Dakota. He will also help NDFG develop a turtle sampling protocol that biologists can use to record turtle sightings. “That way,” says Dekker, “in 10 or 20 years, if another researcher comes along and says, ‘Let’s see how they are doing,’ we’ll have some data to work with. we’ll be able to examine long-term trends.”

KIM FUNDINGSLAND - Staff writer for the Minot Daily News contrib-

uted to this article. ([email protected]) n

Trapping Snapping Turtles

Student Features


Monitoring Tradition at OX Ranch

In late September, 31 CNR students traveled to Ox Ranch near Council, Idaho, to carry on a CNR range studies tradi-tion that began more than 30 years ago.

Students collected vegetation samples, recorded grassland con-ditions and documented invasive weeds. Their data will become part of a long-term vegetation data set that was begun three decades ago by the Ox Ranch in collaboration with the Forest Service. CNR students took the project over about 15 years ago.

Karen Launchbaugh, director of the Rangeland Center, told of the early days. when students first began monitoring at the Ox Ranch, she recalled, GPS technology didn’t exist. The first time the students went out they had to rediscover the vegetation plots, which were marked with T-posts and rebar. “That first time was crazy; the students walked miles and miles to locate the points,” she said. “They literally sometimes fell over the rebar when looking for a site.”

The plots have since been recorded by GPS and entered into a GIS database. Students make the trip to the ranch every five years, visiting the same 30 vegetation plots and recording what they find.

“It is quite a project that involves plant identification, technologies such as GPS, and good old hiking,” said Launchbaugh. “The work contributes to the sustainable management of the ranch and helps students observe changing landscapes up close and personal.”

The project is more than a training exercise for students. Such an extensive, long-term collection of data can also help CNR faculty assess how central Idaho vegetation may be changing in response to climate change, and scientists can see how the plant communities have changed over time.

Students follow up their data collection by preparing a report for the ranch managers and presenting their data at a Coor-dinated Resource Management Planning (CRMP) Committee meeting.

The monitoring project is a good experience for everyone involved, says Launchbaugh. “The students do a great job and the ranch is very grateful for their service.” n

STUDENT FEATURES |

26 | wINTER 2012

| STUDENT FEATURES

The students participated in research projects spanning the biological, physical and social aspects of biodiversity conserva-tion in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems within the páramo ecosystem near Loja, Ecuador. The páramo habitats of Central and South America are a unique, semi-continuous expanse of high-altitude treeless ecosystems.

Jess Helsley, a graduate student in Natural Resources and Envi-ronmental Science, and undergraduate Jaz Ammon conducted stakeholder interviews with residents in five communities surrounding threatened wetlands in the area. “we were trying to gauge their values,” Helsley explained, “to see if protection was important to them. If local communities can manage the protected areas, they will be more successful in the long run.”

Other students worked on projects that looked at the genet-ics of Andean bears, the efficacy of using radio collars in the páramo, the impact of introduced trout on local lakes, the potential effect of a planned road on water quality, and the ecological characteristics of a dry forest ecosystem across an altitude gradient. Students stayed with local families when they weren’t out on field stays. “It was a culturally rich experi-ence for everyone involved,” Helsley said. “Ecuador is a pretty beautiful place.”

The opportunity to do this kind of interdisciplinary research in a developing country is invaluable to students. “They will be more robust and resilient in their future careers as scientists because of this experience,” said project coordinator, Assistant Professor David Roon.

The project, which will continue for a third year next summer, is a collaboration between the College of Natural Resources and environmental science programs at the University of Idaho, the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL) in Ecuador, and the International Research Experience for Students Program of the National Science Foundation.

Participating students were graduate students Jess Helsley and Megan Camp, and undergraduates Haley Egan, Amy Thorpe, Daniel Davidson, Mikaela Campbell, Justin Olnes and Jaz Ammon. n

Summer Experience in EcuadorDevelops robust, resilient scientists

Eight U-Idaho graduate and undergraduate students spent the summer in the southern Ecuadorean Andes as part of an integrated student summer research opportunity.

28 | wINTER 2012

| STUDENT FEATURES

CNR Ambassador Addresses President’s Pre-Game Event

Foresters Symposium: A Place for Dialogue

U-Idaho alumni who attended the first pre-game tailgate event of the season had an opportunity to hear about the importance of student scholarships

firsthand. CNR senior Amy Thorp has received several scholar-ships during her years at U-Idaho. She told the crowd at the September event that she would not have been as success-

ful as a student if it hadn’t been for the support she received from private scholarships. “I have had lots of opportunities as an undergraduate that were made possible because of schol-arships I’ve received,” she said.

Thorp was selected by U-Idaho President M. Duane Nellis, to address attendees. He introduced Thorp by saying she re-flected the quality of U-Idaho students. “It’s all about student success,” Nellis told the audience. “we take great pride in our students’ success. Academics come first.”

Thorp is an ecology and conservation biology major and a CNR student ambassador. She has been to Indiana, Australia and Ecuador during her time as a student. In addition to the financial support she received through scholarships, Thorp also credited the environment within the College of Natural Resources for her success. “I can’t talk about U-Idaho without talking about CNR,” she said. “My professors are super pas-sionate about what they do. As a result, I have become pas-sionate about what I’m studying.” n

The College of Natural Resources 2012 Foresters Symposium was a well-attended and engaging event. Idaho’s forest industry was represented by 20 guests

from eight different industries, and nine guests who repre-sented CNR.

CNR Dean Kurt Pregitzer opened the symposium on September 22 by sharing his goals for the symposium and discussing his commitment to exploring how the College and the forest in-dustry can work together to address issues and problems facing the industry. The dean reiterated that CNR is actively involved in training future industry professionals and to doing research helpful to the forest industry and to the state of Idaho.

Subsequently, Jo Ellen Force, professor and department head of Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences, and several other

attending faculty members talked about the teaching and research they are currently doing that is related to the forest industry. In turn, industry representatives talked with faculty members and shared their concerns and their research needs. Ultimately, both industry representatives and faculty came away from the dialogue with a better sense of how CNR can address issues faced by the forest industry, and how the forest industry can support the College.

The symposium was followed by a well-attended tailgate party, co-hosted by Kevin Boling (B.S. For. Res. ’74), president of the Boling Company, and Jim Riley, president of Riley & As-sociates. The symposium and the tailgate were part of Dean Pregitzer’s efforts to foster collaborative interactions between CNR and the forestry industry. n


CNR NEwS |

NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Waleed Abdalati gave a lecture at the University of Idaho in September as part of the CNR distinguished speaker series. Abdalati’s talk “Looking Home-ward Toward Earth: The Power of Perspective” focused on the power of a space-based perspective in science, explora-tion and in daily life. According to Abdalati, the iconic 1968 “Earthrise” image of planet Earth emerging from beyond the lunar horizon, changed society’s view of our planetary home forever. “Beautiful and vulnerable, and suspended in dark stillness, this image inspired an appreciation that we are one human race, whose fate hinges delicately on our collective actions,” he wrote.

College of Natural Resources Associate Professor Lee Vierling invited Abdalati to speak because of his intimate knowledge of the relationships between the Earth’s climate and water cycle, and of how NASA data can lead to an understanding of the complex interconnections that influence the quality of life on Earth. “These connections are a natural fit for the Univer-sity of Idaho’s land-grant mission of using advanced tools to improve the sustainability of the Earth’s natural resources,” Vierling said. “They complement the interests of the many U-Idaho faculty and students who work on projects central to NASA’s mission.”

Abdalati’s talk “Looking Homeward Toward Earth: The Power of Perspective” focused on the power of a space-based perspective in science, exploration and in daily life.

The CNR McCall Outdoor Science School, or MOSS, was one of six recipients of the J.A. & Kathryn Albertson Founda-tion’s ID21 Awards for 2012. MOSS received $50,000 and was honored at the foundation’s award ceremony on October 16 at the Boise Egyptian Theater.

The ID21 Awards are designed to discover and reward programs in Idaho that revolutionize how students learn. MOSS was recognized in the category for “challenging traditional educa-tion with creativity and innovation.” Nominees in this category were required to establish that their programs are innovative, empowering, successful, creative and sustainable.

“This prestigious award from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation validates the excellence of the MOSS programs in achieving our goals of providing innovative learning opportuni-ties for K-12 students,” U-Idaho President M. Duane Nellis said. “MOSS is one example of the university’s commitment to the ad-vancement, sustainability and development of 21st century learn-ing opportunities in STEM education in the state and beyond.”

MOSS will use the ID21 Awards funds to meet future program-ming needs and to continue the development of its master site plan, which will outline long-term operations on the McCall Field Campus.

Abelleira is an IGERT Ph.D. student in fish and wildlife resources working in Hojancha, Costa Rica. He is co-advised by Sven Guenter at CATIE, and by Alex Fremier at U-Idaho. The title of Abelleira’s dissertation is “water Use for Refores-tation with Teak Plantations in Nicoya, Costa Rica: Implica-tions for Droughts.”

Oscar Abelleira, a graduate student in natural resources, received a $15,000 Borlaug Fellowship from a Purdue University research center.

n

CNR News

30 | wINTER 2012

| LETTER FROM THE CNR ALUMNI BOARD

In late August, the Univer-sity of Idaho

began the 2012-13 academic year. The Moscow campus, now home to some 12,000 students, is vibrant and grow-ing. Many of us as alumni remember

a smaller number of students and a smaller campus, but as the years pass we continue to grow. The College of Natural Resources is poised to take on the challenges of an increasing student body.

I have been honored to serve as the University of Idaho’s Col-lege of Natural Resources Alumni Board of Trustees president and privileged to work with Dean Kurt Pregitzer and his out-standing staff and faculty, as well as with all of the other CNR board members. In September, U-Idaho President M. Duane Nellis announced his enrollment goal of reaching 16,000 students by 2020. To support this growth in enrollment the university is now in the public phase of a 7.5-year capital campaign, concluding on December 31, 2014. This Inspiring Futures Campaign brings together alumni, supporters and stakeholders to grow CNR and the University of Idaho.

The work of the CNR Alumni Board of Trustees has changed in substance and tone in order to meet the challenges faced by our university. Dean Pregitzer has asked us to expand our alumni outreach and engagement efforts to increase support for the College through its capital campaign efforts. This is in addition to our ongoing efforts to provide advocacy for the students, staff and faculty. As U-Idaho works toward meet-ing the university’s capital campaign goal of $225 million, it is critical for our College to fulfill its goal of $22.5 million as part of the total campaign.

As some of you know, Steven Hacker, Director of Develop-ment, was hired to lead our College’s campaign efforts. Steve brings a tremendous amount of energy to the task. He is a team builder who understands the essential role of alumni in achieving critical results, and he is an alumnus of CNR! It

is the intent of the alumni board to help the dean, Steve and our College reach their goal and support the future of CNR.

One way the alumni board can help is by providing out-reach to our College alums. we can foster the develop-ment of a broader, more involved and better informed alumni body. Alumni outreach can help establish CNR’s presence and strengthen the university’s visibility in our communities. The board will strive to develop new pro-fessional networking and community service initiatives and become more engaged in U-Idaho social, cultural and sporting events.

Finally, the alumni board, through its network of student organizations, alumni, families and friends, is working to strengthen relationships and enhance the campus experi-ence for future Vandals. we’re ramping up our work with students and young alumni to deliver more professional and social networking programs. we are strengthening outreach to students, alumni, volunteers and contribu-tors as part of our effort to help the university meet these critical goals.

The alumni board is committed to U-Idaho’s capital cam-paign and to generating support for our university. we are asking each of you to contribute to our outreach efforts by reaching out to your old classmates and friends, and by reestablishing your ties to U-Idaho. Our College pro-duces the next generation of fish and wildlife biologists, land managers and other natural resources professionals who will be important to our local and regional economy. As the CNR alumni board president, I am asking each of you to make your contribution, whether large or small, to help our College and university reach the capital cam-paign goal and continue its mission to grow the College. Please visit www.uidaho.edu/inspire to learn more. Thank you.

Best regards,

Aaron Miles, Sr. ’95 President, CNR Alumni Board of Trustees


A change for Tom Gorman, professor Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences. Tom has been named Associate Dean of the College of Natural Resources.

welcome Amanda Gearhart, rangeland extension specialist/assistant professor, Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences. Gearhart

received her Ph.D. from North Dakota State University in 2011 and her MS from U-Idaho in 2005.

welcome Joleen Joslin, fiscal specialist, CNR Fiscal Services.

welcome Robert Keefe, assistant professor, Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences. Robert received his Ph.D. from CNR in 2012 and filled

the forest operations position.

A change for David Roon, who is now clinical faculty/assistant professor of Fish and wildlife Sciences. Roon has worked within

CNR as an instructor and program lead for Ecology and Conservation Biology since 2007.

Farewell to William McLaughlin, former interim dean and professor of Conservation Social Sciences. He retired at the end of the year.

Farewell Boling Sun, lab manager, Fish and wildlife sciences. She retired this year.

CHANGES IN THE COLLEGE |

welcome Jamie Anderson, grants/contracts compliance specialist.

welcome Luigi Boschetti, associate professor, Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences. Luigi is joining us from the University of

Maryland, Department of Geography.

Welcome

Changes

Farewell

welcome Jan Eitel, research faculty/assistant professor, Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences.

welcome Heather Heward, temporary faculty-lecturer, Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences.

welcome Candy Ihm, program specialist, Fish and wildlife Co-op Unit.

Farewell to Sam Ham, professor and director of the Center for International Training and Outreach. He retired in January 2013.

welcome Cathy Knock, business operations manager.

welcome Jill Maxwell, communications and marketing coordinator.

welcome Holli Sampson, web coordinator.

welcome Camille Stevens-Rumann, program outreach coordinator for Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences.

A change for Eva Strand, assistant pro-fessor, Forest, Range-land, and Fire Sciences. Previously, she was a faculty member in the

Rangeland Ecology and Management De-partment and a Research Scientist in CNR.

A change for Lee Vierling. He was appointed Director, McCall Outdoor Science School.

Farewell Steve Hollenhorst. He has accepted a position as dean of the Huxley College of the Environment at western washington University in Bellingham, wash. Steve will still be connected to U-Idaho through the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA) grant program, and he will continue to be the lead of the education component of NIFA, which supports U-Idaho’s MOSS and Bioregional Planning programs.

32 | wINTER 2012

SPECIAl COllEGE AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

Bridge Builder AwardNilsa A. Bosque-Pérez

CNR Outstanding Continuing Education and Service AwardAlistair Smith, assistant professor, Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences

Joshua C. Hyde, smoke program coordinator

CNR Outstanding Research AwardPhilip E. Higuera, assistant professor, Forest, Rangeland, and Fire Sciences

University of Idaho 2012 – 2014 Presidential Mid-Career AwardLisette waits, professor, Fish and wildlife Resources

University of Idaho 2012 Interdisciplinary or Collaborative Efforts Excellence AwardNick Sanyal, associate professor, Conservation Social Sciences

STUDENT AWARDS

Alumni Awards for Excellence

(2012-2013)Jaz Ammon Resource Recreation and Tourism

Rebecca Johnson Ecology and Conservation Biology, wildlife Resources

Zach Penney Fishery Resources

wade Tinkham Natural Resources

(2011-2012)Carrie Anderson Ecology and Conservation Biology

Mary Coyle Fishery Resources, wildlife Resources

Thomas Rodhouse Natural Resources

Outstanding Freshman/Valkyries AwardBrita Olson Ecology and Conservation Biology

Outstanding Junior/Silver Lance HonoraryRebecca Johnson Ecology and Conservation Biology

Julia workman Rangeland Ecology and Management

Dean Vettrus ScholarshipRebecca Johnson Ecology and Conservation Biology

Julia workman Rangeland Ecology and Management

Outstanding Achievement Award for Conservation Social Sciences Jaz Ammon

Outstanding Leadership Achievement Award for Conservation Social Sciences Chad Kooistra

Outstanding Achievement Award for Forest, Rangeland, and Fire SciencesScott Scroggie

CNR Outstanding Graduating Senior Carrie Anderson

CNR Outstanding Department SeniorsConservation Social Sciences Johannes Giessen

Ecology and Conservation Biology Carrie Anderson

Fishery Resources Jordanne Holst

Fishery Resources and Mary “Katie” Coyle wildlife Resources

Forest Resources Trever DoBell-Carlsson

Fire Ecology and Management Greg Howisey

Forest Products Jarred Saralecos

Rangeland Ecology and Management Andrea “A.J.” Limberger

wildlife Resources Andrew R. Meyers

2012 Awards


SPECIAl AlUMNI AND COllEGE RECOGNITION

Curtis R. and Renan L. Yanish Alumni Achievement Award

Peter F. Kolb Mid-Career Alumni Achievement Award

John H. Ehrenreich Honor Associate Alumni Award

G. Thomas Zimmerman Honor Alumni Award

Steve L. McMullin Celebrating Natural Resources Award

Moses Makonjio Okello International Alumni Achievement Award

Special Recognition

Lauren Fins – Special recognition for her dedication and service to the College

Francis G. Wagner - Special recognition for his dedication and service to the College

Boling Sun - Special recognition for her dedication and service to the students and faculty of the Univer-sity of Idaho College of Natural Resources

CNR OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENT AWARDSOutstanding Graduate Student for the CollegeThomas Rodhouse

Conservation Social Sciences Andrew “Drew” Bentley

Wildlife Resources Thomas Rodhouse

Forest Resources Robert Keefe

Fishery Resources Jessica Buelow

Forest Resources Olga Kildisheva

AwARDS |

34 | wINTER 2012

John (Jack) Helle (B.S. Fish. Mgt. ’58, M.S. Fish. Mgt. ’61) received the william E. Ricker Resource Conser-vation Award from the American Fisheries Society in their August 2012 meeting in St. Paul, Minn. He worked at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Auke Bay Laboratories in Juneau for most of his career.

He was honored for his lifetime contributions as a leader in aquatic resource conservation and ecosystem management at an international level. Helle’s vision for interdisciplinary and international collaborations secured a better understanding of the interactions between ocean dynam-ics and physical attributes with production of Pacific salmon. His publications and scientific leadership have provided a thorough examination of the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea ecosystems. Helle’s participation in treaty collaborations as a scientist provided insight for international collaborations among U.S., Canadian, Japanese, Russian and Korean scientists.

Helle was inducted into the U-Idaho Alumni Hall of Fame in 1999.

Steven C. Amstrup (M.S. wlf. Mgmt. ’75) chief scientist for the Bozeman, Mont.-based Polar Bears International, recently won the prestigious Indianapolis Prize. Amstrup directed research that led to the 2008 listing of polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, and developed infrared technology to

locate polar bear dens under the snow. The Indianapolis Prize is an international award given every other year to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to conservation efforts involving a single animal species or multiple species. In addition to a $100,000 unrestricted cash award, the winner receives the prestigious Lilly Medal.

Tom Zimmerman (M.S. For. Res. ’79) a leader in fire management for more than 30 years, retired from his position as Program Manager for the wildland Fire Management Research, Development and Application pro-gram of the Forest Service, on Jan. 14, 2012. He also became a board member of the International Associa-tion of wildland Fire in January. Tom

worked at multiple federal land management agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S.

Forest Service. His permanent assignments included positions as Forester, Fire Control Officer, Fire Management Officer, State Fire Management Planning Specialist, Regional Fire Management Officer, Fire Technology Specialist, Fire Science and Ecologi-cal Applications Program Leader, Regional Director of Fire and Aviation Management, and wildland Fire Management RD&A Program Manager. He conducted training in the United States, China, Canada, and India, and presented papers, either in person or virtually, at conferences in the United States, Canada, Italy, South Africa, and Cyprus.

wildland fire and emergency response constituted a major focus area of his career and Tom has over 30 years of involvement in incident management team operations including service as an Incident Commander and Area Commander on wildland fire incidents and all hazard emergency responses across the country. He was also involved in national training cadres in Advanced Incident Management, Area Command, and Advanced Fire Use Applications.

Sue Rodman (M.S. For. Res. ’99) works for the Alaska Depart-ment of Fish and Game and is the coordinator for AFG’s involve-ment in the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and the National Fish Habitat Partnerships.

Scott Conroy (B.S. For. Res. ’77) retired this year from his position as Forest Supervisor for the Rogue River Siskiyou. He had worked for the U.S. Forest Service for more than a quarter of a century on the front lines as a wildland firefighter, as a forester, in washington D.C., on two tours, and as a forest supervisor. He and his wife, Lorna, who recently

was named the Children’s Advocacy Center employee of the year, live in Medford, Ore.

2000sTheresa “Terrie” Jain (B.S. For. Res. ‘03, M.S. For. Res. ’94, Ph.D. ’01) was recently featured on NBCLatino for her work with forests and fire. Jain is currently a research forester at the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Moscow, ID. She is nationally recog-nized as a leader in silviculture and fire science, particularly in the field of fuels management. She received

a Forester of the Year award from the Inland Empire Society of American Foresters and a national award for outstanding contri-butions in the field of silviculture from the U.S. Forest Service.

Class Notes


Ryan Siebold (B.S. For. Res. ’05) is working for the Superior National Forest as a west Zone Silviculturist. He currently lives in Aurora, Minn.

Thor Hanson (Ph.D. Nat. Res. ’06) discussed his book “Feathers” on the NPR radio show “Fresh Air” on Sept. 4, 2012. In his interview with Dave Davies, contributor for “Fresh Air,” Thor Hanson described the beginnings of his fascination with feathers, how he plucked a dead wren completely clean of feathers to better understand them, and why

feathers are so important. In his book, Hanson examines the many remarkable aspects of feathers – from how they evolved to how they are used to attract others – of both the avian and human variety.

Ryan Long, (M.S. wlf. Res. ’07) received the ASM Fellowship, the highest award given to graduate students by the American Society of Mammalogists. Long will be completing his Ph.D. at Idaho State University in May 2013 and will start a postdoctoral research position at Princeton University in the summer of 2013. Long was named outstanding graduate student in wildlife as a master’s student.

| IN MEMORY

Tamara Moseley-Okada (M.S. Public Policy – Natural Re-sources emphasis, ’06) died on Jan. 13, 2012, in Roseburg, Ore. She loved horseback riding and was dedicated to caring for the environment. She is survived by her husband and son.

James (Pat) Clason (B.S. For. Mgmt. ’55) died Nov. 21, 2011, at his home in Medford, Ore. He had a 36-year forestry career with the Bureau of Land Management in Medford and retired in 1992. He was also a veteran. He is survived by his wife, Gayle, and two grown children.

William Joseph Knox (M.S. Fish. ’82) passed away unexpect-edly in La Grande, Ore. on April 25, 2012. He worked for the Oregon Department of Fish and wildlife in the Umatilla and John Day basins until retiring in February 2012.

Devona Lam Weirich, (M.S. Fish. ’85) of warsaw, passed away June 20, 2012 at her home. She worked for the Missouri Department of Conservation after receiving her master’s. She received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Uni-versity of Missouri in 2001 and at the time of her death was employed as a veterinarian for the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Crystal Ann Strobl (B.S. wlf. Res. ’02) died Oct. 20, 2012, in central Oregon. She was a Taylor Ranch intern and DeVlieg scholar. She was a wildlife biologist with the Oregon Depart-ment of Fish and wildlife in the Prineville office.

Jim Schindler (B.S. For. Res. ’07; MNR ’08) died Oct. 28, 2012. Shortly after leaving college, Jim was hired by the washington State Department of Natural Resources as a forester in the Black Hills District of Olympia, wash., where he worked for over four years.

Craig MacPheeFormer University of Idaho fisheries professor Craig MacPhee died Octo-ber 9, 2012.

MacPhee has a distinguished history at U-Idaho. He began teaching at CNR (formerly the College of For-estry, wildlife and Range Sciences) in 1957 and continued until his retire-ment in 1981. He helped establish a cooperative fisheries research unit on the U-Idaho campus in 1963, one of the first of its kind in the nation. He conducted research projects throughout northern Idaho’s rivers and lakes, and partici-pated in fisheries research connected with the Alaska oil pipeline. MacPhee developed and patented squoxin, a chemical which eradi-cated pike minnow (squawfish) from Northwest waters.

MacPhee served as academic chairman for the University of Idaho Department of Fishery Resources from 1977-79. He served on the U-Idaho Faculty Council from 1977-80, and was president of the Idaho Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and the Idaho Chapter of Sigma xi.

MacPhee’s commitment to the university lives on. After his retire-ment, he and his wife established the Craig and Dorothy MacPhee Scholarship to further education for a student in fisheries. In addition, MacPhee’s wife, Dorothy, is a graduate of the University of Idaho as are all three of their sons, and some of their grandchil-dren. “I just hope that my grandchildren all attend and graduate too,” wrote his son, John, who recalled that his father enjoyed fish-ing, hiking, hunting, games and sailing.

The family suggests memorials be sent to the Craig and Dorothy Seney MacPhee Fisheries Endowment at the University of Idaho, P.O. Box 443147, Moscow, ID 83844-3147.

CLASS NOTES |

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36 | wINTER 2012

Conservation Social Sciences

Sandra Pinel and Ed Krumpe were selected and funded by the Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests to provide expert facilitation and assessment for the pilot forest planning process under the new national planning rule.

Fish and Wildlife SciencesAssistant professor Chris Caudill, research scientist, Matt Keefer, and Hattie Zobbot (M.Sc. student in civil engineering) presented at the Lamprey Synthesis Studies Review work Group Meeting workshop for USACE, Portland District, held at the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fisheries Commission (CRITFC) offices in Port-land in October. They presented a summary of data collected since the late 1990s on the up-stream migration of adult lamprey and on the results of cost-benefit modeling exercises. They also presented on a three-dimensional fishway model of the Bonneville washington Shore fish-way that can provide rapid and spatially linked access to diverse information sets.

Professor Brian Dennis’ new book, “The R Stu-dent Companion,” was published by CRC Press in September. “R” is a free computer package/language for scientific graphs and calcula-tions that is available for windows, Mac OS and Linux. In the book, Dennis proposes that R could supplement or even replace calculators in high school and college math and science courses.

Caren Goldberg and Katherine Strickler, research scientists, and Alex Fremier, assistant professor, received $870,664 in two grants from the Department of Defense to develop protocols for monitoring aquatic species using environmental DNA (eDNA). This new technol-ogy uses DNA extracted from natural water bodies to detect at-risk or invasive species.

Janet Rachlow, associate professor, received NSF funding for a four-year collaborative re-search project that involves faculty and students from the University of Idaho, washington State University, Boise State University, the Univer-sity of Florida, and the Center for Ecology and Hydrology in the UK. Rachlow also taught a workshop on the “Use of telemetry to evaluate patterns of space use by animals” at the Univer-sidad Téchnica Particular de Loja in Ecuador last summer.

Kerry Reese, professor and department head, co-developed and chaired a one half-day sym-posium “Prairie Grouse Management: Doomed to Repeat the Past?” at the wildlife Society’s an-nual conference in Portland. Ten invited speakers from around the nation examined prairie grouse management and mismanagement in North America, examined historical lessons from prairie grouse management and their incorporation into current management policies and actions, and assessed what insights may have been discarded or ignored with respect to management of sage-grouse.

Lisette Waits, professor, taught a workshop on conservation genetics at the Universidad Téch-nica Particular de Loja in Ecuador this summer.

Frank Wilhelm, associate professor, taught a three day limnology workshop at the Universi-dad Téchnica Particular de Loja in Ecuador this summer. He and his students presented three papers at the annual meeting of the North American Lakes Management Society in Novem-ber. wilhelm organized and chaired a session en-titled “Student research: new ideas in limnology” at the washington Lakes Protection Association scholarship committee meeting in October.

Alex Fremier Kerry Reese Lisette Waits

Sandra Pinel

Ed Krumpe

Katherine Strickler

Janet Rachlow

Brian Dennis

Faculty and Staff Highlights


FACULTY / STAFF HIGHLIGHTS |

Forest, Rangeland, and Fire SciencesAnthony S. Davis, assistant professor and direc-tor of the Center for Forest Nursery and Seedling Research, delivered the opening address entitled, “Producing Target Seedlings to Optimize Out-planting Success” and facilitated the first gather-ing of native tree nursery growers in Lebanon in November. Davis and his nursery team have been working with nurseries, restoration and reforesta-tion professionals, and researchers in Lebanon to transform the way seedlings are grown in nurser-ies in an effort to improve successful establish-ment following planting. This is a critical step in a heavily deforested, arid region that is actively working to cease desertification.

Tim Link, associate professor, led a field trip to the Mica Creek Experimental watershed during the SAF convention in Spokane in October. Partici-pants discussed the site history, saw the harvest units and roads being evaluated in the study, and discussed the research instrumentation.

John Marshall, professor, is on sabbatical in Sweden. He is conducting research on Scots pine forests with faculty in the Department of Forest Ecology and Management at the Swedish Agricul-tural University in Umeå, Sweden. He presented a poster at the IUFRO bus-tour conference on Future Forests in Sweden, in Vindeln, Sweden, Aug. 10, 2012; and a seminar on CO2 transport in xy-lem Sap, Swedish Agricultural University, Oct. 17, 2012. He gave an invited seminar at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, Nov. 15-17, 2012. Marshall also gave an invited seminar and conducted site visits to Shenyang, Inner Mongolia, and Huitong Province in China, sponsored by the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, from Nov. 18-Dec. 2, 2012.

Lovina Roselle

Lee Vierling

Mason Croft

Thomas Laxson

Anthony DavisFrank Wilhelm John Marshall

David Tank

Tim Link

Lovina Roselle, outreach coordinator, was awarded an Honorary State FFA Degree during the Idaho FFA State Leadership Conference in April and presented with the award at the Idaho FFA State Career Development Events held in Moscow in June. David Tank, assistant professor, was recently featured on the video series “Plants are Cool, Too!” and in the Huffington Post blog for his work with preserved, prehistoric leaves at the Fossil Bowl Race Track in Clarkia, Idaho. Tank and his colleagues are currently seeking to perform a successful DNA extraction on 15-mil-lion-year-old leaves.

Lee Vierling was named the new executive director of the McCall Field Campus, including MOSS and associated programs in August.

StaffMason Croft and Thomas Laxson, GIS analysts for the National Gap Analysis Program (GAP), attended the Esri International User Conference in San Diego, July 23-27. Their dem-onstration of GAP’s collaborative online species model review tool, entitled “ArcGIS Online Col-laboration of Species Reviews,” received third place at the User Software Applications Fair in the Multimedia Map category. n

38 | wINTER 2012

Ehrenreich & Family Extend Graduate Scholarship Opportunities

John Ehrenreich, emeritus professor, has a passion for graduate education that stems from his years of service in the College of Natural Resources.

During his tenure at CNR, Ehrenreich taught and men-tored more than 100 master and doctoral degree students, helping prepare them to become research leaders.

His exemplary career at the university, coupled with his ear-lier experience working on national and international initia-tives to improve science education, research and policy, filled a lifetime of dedication to higher learning. As dean, Ehrenreich actively worked to provide opportunities for women and international students.

Recently, Ehrenreich, his wife, Dixie, and their children, John Jr., and Karen (Lyman), took another step to increase opportu-nities for students by creating the Ehrenreich Family Graduate Student Scholarship. The scholarship will support students who are pursuing graduate degrees in forestry, range, fire ecology and management, fisheries, wildlife, or conservation social sciences.

In addition to his faculty position, Ehrenreich also served as dean of CNR from 1971 to 1984. Under his leadership, the College expanded its academic programs, facilities, research capacities and international activities while enhancing the university’s reputation as a research giant. Ehrenreich was given the Honor Associate Alumni Award by the College of Natural Resources on April 19 during the annual College awards celebration. He and his wife live in Clarkston, wash.

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| THE EHRENREICH FAMILY


Impact tomorrow

For more information on inspiring students through scholarship

endowments, contact:

Steven HackerCNR Director of Development

(208) [email protected]

www.uidaho.edu/inspire

Rebecca Johnson knows the value of being a scholarship

recipient. In fact, the senior, who is pursuing a double

major in ecology and conservation biology and wildlife

resources with the College of Natural Resources,

has been inspired by the generosity of donors. She is

the beneficiary of the Austin M. Hanchey Memorial

Scholarship Endowment. She also has benefited from

the Eubanks Excellence Scholarship, U-Idaho Merit

Scholarship, Morris K. Udall Scholarship, as well as

several others.

“Scholarships made it possible for me to attend the

University of Idaho,” Johnson said. “I’ve tried not to take

a moment for granted.”

40 | wINTER 2012

CNR kicked off the semester with a student, faculty, staff BBQ.

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit 679

Boise, ID

875 Perimeter Drive MS 1142

Moscow, ID 83844-1142

More than 200 people turned out to watch demonstrations by the Logger Sports Club and enjoy the tasty BBQ. The evening culminated in a multi-event competition between teams of undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty/staff. The teams tried to best each other in a tent set-up race, a tug-of-war, a relay race involving hula hoops and wetsuits, and a ball toss. The graduate students won all events.

winter 2012 cnr alumni magazine

Documents

alumni of cnr

contributions cnr faculty

cnr alumni board31 changes

morrill act15 cnr

belize cnr alumna

dear cnr colleagues

spokane cnr cosponsors

alaska students