Craighead Beringia South works to educate our communities in order to improve wildlife management and conservation. We work towards this goal with the following programs:
Craighead Beringia South and Bear Trust International:
Craighead Beringia South and collaborator Bear Trust International are developing an extended wildlife research education program including bears, cougars and raptors.
Integrated Wildlife Research Education - High School Education Program:
The fall of 2011 will kick off the pilot year of this program. The program is designed to integrate our ongoing scientific wildlife studies into local high school classrooms. We plan to use on-going tracking studies with bald eagles and cougars to allow students to follow them in real-time and learn about raptors, migration, cougar ecology, conservation issues and applied scientific study design. Jackson Hole High School and Summit High School located in Jackson, Wyoming will utilize this program to enhance their science education.
Elementary School Education:
Craighead Beringia South is dedicated to engage children, parents, teachers and community members with its innovative research. The elementary program achieves its goal of community wide wildlife education by:
- Providing educational resources, activities, and outdoor experiences to 2nd and 4th grade class rooms.
- Teaching within the curriculum standards on habitat use, water conservation, mammal’s life history, tracking, migration and trapping techniques.
- Partnering with other educational programs including the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole, pARTners, the Wildlife Film Festival, and The Cougar Fund.
- Building a community of youth, educators, and wildlife scientists.
Educational Outreach:
Through research the Gobi Bear project has help develop science based strategies for recovery of this critically endangered animal located in southwest Mongolia. Part of this strategy includes educating the local communities in order to gain understanding and support of the Gobi Bear. This project is similar to a program we have been involved here in the U.S. developing the Bear Trust's The Bear Book and complimentary education program. Research from the Teton Cougar Project will also be incorporated.
Internships & Graduate Studies:
Training bright young wildlife biologists through field projects is an extremely effective and efficient method of developing projects and nurturing young scientists who will soon be taking leadership roles in our communities. Beringia South has strong domestic and international student internship and graduate fellowship programs, framed around its ongoing field research.
Published papers, talks, articles, conferences and film:
Craighead Beringia South documents our research to have a wide ranging impact by sharing it with the public. This is done through published papers, talks, articles, conferences and film. Through a partnership with City Kids we give talks and provide hands on education for groups like City Kids, see photo to left.
Learn More!
Interested in attending one of our educational presentations? Contact us today!
Master Dissertations:
Bryan Bedrosian - M.S. degree in Biology from Arkansas State University - 2004
Nesting and Post-fledging Ecology of the Common Raven in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming PDF
Susannah Woodruff - M.S. from Prescott University - 2006
A Comparison of Wolf and Cougar Kill Sites in the Southern Yellowstone Ecosystem
Boone Smith -Enrolled at Utah State University - 2009
Prey Selection by Cougars in the Southern Yellowstone Ecosystem
Vivian Bui - Enrolled at the University of Washington - 2009
Nest Predation by Common Ravens on Greater Sage Grouse in Relation to Land Cover in Western Wyoming
Travis Barnick - Enrolled at University of Wisconsin, Madison- 2010
Prey Selection by Wyoming Cougars.
Past Interns and Their Current Positions:
Anna Chalfoun - 2000
Anna recently received her Ph.D. from University of Montana studying the ecology of birds in the sagebrush ecosystem and is currentlyholds a post-doc positionat the University of Wyoming studying the effects ofnew pathways inGrand Teton National Park on wildlife.
Bryan Bedrosian - 2001
Currently the CBS Avian Program Manager
Emil McCain - Summer 2002
Co-founder the Borderlands Detection Project aimed at jaguar conservation in the United States.
Andrea Craighead - Summer 2003
Andrea recently completed her BS in Biology at Montana State University, and currently resides in Jackson Hole.
Nic Osterberg - Summer 2003
Continuing after his internship, Nic was employed as a technician with Beringia South through 2005. Nic is currently completing his apprenticeship to become a journeyman electrician.
Trapper Haynam - Summers 2005, 2006, 2007
Still working with CBS as a technician in 2008, Trapper is completing a double BS degree in Wildlife and Geology from the University of Montana.
Kati Flemming - Summer 2006
Kati is currently pursuing a degree in Wildlife at the University of Colorado - Boulder.
Kelly Landau - Summer 2007
A dual citizen of the US and S. Africa, Kelly is currently finishing her degree work at the University of Mary Washington inVirgina.
Brittany Oleson - Summer 2007
Brit has always been interested in a career in wildlife biology and is completing her B.S. in wildlife ecology at Coe College in Wisconsin.
Tom Rogers - Fall/Winter 2007
Having peaked his interest in lead toxicology on wildlife through helping with the lead project, Tom has begun his Master's degree work at the University of Montana investigating lead injestion in large mammals, including bears, cougars and wolves.
Jessica Fisher - Summer 2008
Jessica provided much needed assistance as a volunteer during her summer break from the Jackson Hole High School.