A major focus of our work is in the Northern Great Plains of central and eastern Montana. Our program there focuses on advancing sustainable use, stewardship and restoration of this amazing landscape through interdisciplinary education and field-based research, and relies on strong collaborations with regional stakeholders.
Summer Field ProgramEducation is the cornerstone to effective management. Therefore, a major focus of our program is graduate and undergraduate student education. This is highlighted by our annual summer field program where students learn about the the complexities of achieving conservation on a working landscape.
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ResearchWe have been conducting wildlife research in this region for over 17 years, and currently have several ongoing graduate student led field research projects. All of our projects benefit from strong collaborations with partners in central Montana and across the Great Plains. See below for a summary of our research projects in the region.
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Prairie Ecology LabLocated on High Meadows Ranch in the Bull Mountains of central Montana, the Clemson Prairie Ecology Lab serves as the base of operations for both our undergraduate summer program and graduate student led research in the region.
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CURRENT RESEARCH
Wildlife in working conservation landscapesIn 2018 we started a new integrative and interdisciplinary project on defining wildlife coexistence landscapes in the Northern Great Plains. Interdisciplinary in that we will be teaming up with social scientists to link ecological and human dimensions data to help define the patterns and processes that have driven and will drive the future of wildlife co-existence on this working lands landscape.
Project collaborators: Clemson Institute for Parks, World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, University of Montana |
Related papers:
Titus, K., and D.S. Jachowski. 2021. Persistent negative stakeholder perspectives limit recovery of a critically endangered carnivore. Conservation Science and Practice 3:e526. |
Northern Great Plains swift fox connectivity projectWe are working with colleagues in the US and Canada on a study of the movement ecology and demography of swift fox populations in northern Montana. Very little is known about what constitutes swift fox habitat, let alone fox dispersal behavior and population demography, in this region which serves as a critical link between restored populations in southern Canada to the north, and established populations to the south in South Dakota and Wyoming. We are conducting tracking studies of both adult and juvenile swift foxes and deploying a wide camera trap array to begin to address these key questions facing the restoration of this species of concern.
Most recently, we have become involved in efforts to help restore swift for to Ft. Belknap Reservation which is the homeland of A’aniiih and Nakota communities. If successful, this reintroduction effort could be key to connecting northern and southern existing population of swift fox in the Northern Great Plains. Project collaborators: Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, World Wildlife Fund, Calgary Zoo, Bureau of Land Management, Ft. Belknap Indian Community, Smithsonian Institution |
Related papers:
Butler, A., K. Bly, H. Harris, B. Inman, A. Moehrenschlager, D. Schwalm, and D. Jachowski. 2021. Life on the edge: Habitat fragmentation limits recovery of a reintroduced carnivore. Animal Conservation 24:108-119. Butler, A., K. Bly, H. Harris, B. Inman, A. Moehrenschlager, D. Schwalm, and D.S. Jachowski. 2020. Home range size and resource utilization by swift fox in northeastern Montana. Journal of Mammalogy 101:684-696. Butler, A., K. Bly, H. Harris, B. Inman, A. Moehrenschlager, D. Schwalm, and D.S. Jachowski. 2019. Winter movement behavior by swift foxes (Vulpes velox) at the northern edge of their range. Canadian Journal of Zoology 97:922-930. |
Response of grassland communities to bison reintroductionIn central Montana, there is an attempt underway to create the largest bison herd in the world. Bison have been termed by some as a keystone species on the Great Plains, driving the structure and function of the prairie ecosystem. However, there are concerns regarding the impacts of year-round bison grazing and its potential impacts on grassland plants. We are evaluating the impact bison restoration has on plant community dynamics both now, and with the establish long-term monitoring plots, long into the future.
Project collaborators: Bureau of Land Management, American Prairie
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Related Papers:
McMillan, N.A., K.E. Kunkel, D.L. Hagan and D.S. Jachowski. 2020. Assessing large herbivore management strategies in the Northern Great Plains using rangeland health metrics. Natural Areas Journal 40:273-280. McMillan, N.A., K.E. Kunkel, D.L. Hagan and D.S. Jachowski. 2019. Plant community responses to bison reintroduction on the Northern Great Plains, USA: A test of the keystone species concept. Restoration Ecology 27:379-388. |
Black-footed ferret recoverySince 1999 our lab group has been involved in trying to recover the most critically endangered carnivore in North America, the black-footed ferret. Our research to aid in ferret recovery has spanned a diversity of topics, including the ecology of black-footed ferrets:
conserving and restoring prairie dog populations they rely on, particularly in the face of disease (sylvatic plague)
and most recently human attitudes towards ferrets and prairie dogs:
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Book
Jachowski, D.S. 2014. Wild Again: The Struggle to Save the Black-footed Ferret. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA. Other related scientific papers Eads, D.A., D.S. Jachowski, J.J. Millspaugh and D.E. Biggins. 2012. Importance of lunar and temporal conditions for spotlight surveys of adult black-footed ferrets. Western North American Naturalist 72:179-190. Eads, D.A., D.S. Jachowski, D.E. Biggins, T.M. Livieri, M.R. Matchett and J.J. Millspaugh. 2012 Resource selection models are useful in predicting distributions of black-footed ferrets in prairie dog colonies. Western North American Naturalist 72:206-215. Jachowski, D.S. 2011. The Sentimental Ecologist. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 9:575-576. Eads, D.A., J.J. Millspaugh, D.E. Biggins, T.M. Livieri, and D.S. Jachowski. 2011. Post-breeding resource selection by adult black-footed ferrets in Conata Basin, South Dakota. Journal of Mammalogy 92:760-770. Eads, D.A., D.E. Biggins, J.J. Millspaugh, D.S. Jachowski and T.M. Livieri. 2011. Evaluation of a black-footed ferret resource utilization function model. Journal of Wildlife Management 75:1155-1163. Eads, D.A., D.E. Biggins, D.S. Jachowski, T.M. Livieri, J.J. Millspaugh and M. Forsberg. 2010. Morning ambush attacks by black-footed ferrets on emerging prairie dogs. Ethology, Ecology and Evolution 22:1-8. Jachowski, D.S. and J.M. Lockhart. 2009. Reintroducing black-footed ferrets to the Great Plains of North America. Small Carnivore Conservation 41:58-64. Jachowski, D.S., J.J. Millspaugh, D.E. Biggins, T.L. Livieri and M.R. Matchett. 2008. Implications of black-tailed prairie dog spatial dynamics on black-footed ferrets. Natural Areas Journal 28:14-25. Jachowski, D.S. 2007. Notes on black-footed ferret detectability and behavior. The Prairie Naturalist 39:97-102. |