Bird and Nature Club: The Migration Initiative - Taking Wyoming's Lesson to a Global Scale

The Wyoming Migration Initiative is a nationally renowned project whose mission is "Advancing the understanding, appreciation, and conservation of Wyoming’s migratory ungulates by conducting innovative research and sharing scientific information through public outreach."  Director Matt Kauffman will bring us up to date on current findings in Grand Teton and the GYE such as those chronicled in the new film "Animal Trails: Rediscovering Grand Teton Migrations".  Matt will also discuss WMI's launch of an exciting new project, the "Global Migration Atlas" in cooperation with the UN Convention on Migratory Species.  

Dr. Kauffman has worked on topics that include the management and recovery of peregrine falcons, evaluating the ecological role of wolves in Yellowstone National Park, and the effects of range management on carnivores in southern Africa.  In 2006, Matt joined the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and the faculty of the Department of Zoology and Physiology at the University of Wyoming; he is currently the director of the Wyoming Coop Unit.  Matt and his graduate students are conducting studies on elk, wolves, moose, deer, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep in Wyoming, addressing the influence of habitat condition, predation, human disturbance, and energy development on these species.  Matt’s research combines work on animal physiology, behavior and demography to better understand population- and landscape-level processes, including a strong focus on ungulate migration.  A primary focus of his research program is to provide timely information to agency biologists charged with managing Wyoming’s wildlife.