Tag: habitat connectivity

Wildlife Crossings Master Plan Featured in Jackson Hole News

Posted on May 14th, 2018
Marcel Huijser

Last week, the Jackson Hole News and Guide published a feature article on the Teton County (Wyoming) Wildlife Crossings Master Plan developed by WTI. The draft Plan, which was recently presented to County Commissioners, identified priority sites for wildlife mitigation and recommended site-specific solutions.  As part of the plan, twelve sites were proposed for wildlife crossing structures to increase both roadway safety and habitat connectivity.  Principal Investigator Marcel Huijser was interviewed for the article, which is available on the Jackson Hole News website.

Just Keep Swimming: Sturgeon Swimming Research Published in Northwest Science

Posted on April 23rd, 2018

A team of Montana-based fish passage researchers continue to produce notable results using the outdoor experimental flume at the Bozeman Fish Technology Center.  Northwest Science has published the journal article “Sprint Swimming Performance of Shovelnose Sturgeon in an Open-Channel Flume.”  The article, authored by Luke Holmquist of MSU’s Department of Ecology, Kevin Kappenman of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Matt Blank of WTI, and Matt Schultz highlights research to study the swimming abilities of wild shovelnose sturgeon in fish passage structures.  The results indicate that their swimming abilities have been underestimated in the past.  These findings will help improve future designs of fish passage structures and facilitate efforts to prevent habitat fragmentation for this species.

The research is a collaboration among WTI, the MSU Department of Ecology, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and one of several projects the partners have conducted together.  More information about the sturgeon project is available on the project page and more information about the collaborative research program is available on the MSU Fish Passage webpage.

Citation: Luke Holmquist, Kevin Kappenman, Matt D. Blank, and Matt Schultz. Sprint Swimming Performance of Shovelnose Sturgeon in an Open-Channel Flume. Northwest Science 2018 92 (1), 61-71.