Animal Research and Management
Post by 2016 Montana Summer Program student Caroline Wolfe
Throughout our four days with Dr. Scott, we were exposed to research that is taking place on the plains of Montana. Much of the research that is taking place is in correlation with domestic animals and how they coexist with the wildlife that surrounds them. I greatly appreciated and loved hearing about all of the research being done to further expand our understanding of how wildlife and domestic livestock interact. It comforted me to know that people are actively trying to figure out what policies are suitable for managing land, either as crops or rangeland. I also found much of their research interesting, as it pertained to the relationships of domestic animals and wildlife. On top of seeing all the research that is being conducted, many of the researchers explained the importance of communicating and creating relationships with the landowners. By doing so, they become someone ranchers can come to for advice on how to properly manage their land and situations such as extreme drought. With proper techniques under their belt, this simple relationship between researcher and rancher can better the land that they live on.
One important relationship that can exist is a rancher and a forester. We met with Gary Ellingston, who currently works for Northwest Management Incorporate as a forester. Gary said that as a private forester, he constantly tries to educate his clients why he is choosing to do certain prescriptions to the land and how he is carrying them out. The type of prescription that he assigns to the land depends on the history of the land and the intended use of the current owners. Most of the land in the west has been abused by previous owners who tried to extract as much as possible from the land to make as much of a profit as possible. As Gary put it, they wanted to “take the best and leave the rest.” With the knowledge of how the land was used prior to over harvesting much of its resources, the next step is to determine what the owners want out of the land. As it turns out wildlife is actually a big motivation for large, wealthy ranch owners who want to create hunting habitat for large game, such as elk. However, other owners may want to gain profit through timber harvesting or raising livestock. With these two primary questions in mind, this can help private foresters such as Gary to help create prescriptions for the land on how to get to the finished habitat that the owner desires.
To see some of the forefronts in research of livestock, we went to Fort Keogh. This large research facility primarily focuses on cattle genetics. However, we were also shown new data they had acquired from analyzing the water quality on their property. The reason behind this research was to find the cause of sudden death in cattle found consistently near water. The thought of the data only being around six hours old from being compiled together was thrilling to me. The process of sifting through the data to find patterns and correlations to finally come to a conclusion excites me! One aspect of their presentation I liked was that they encouraged ranchers to buy a device that calculated the turbidity of the water within minutes. With this, they could better choose bodies of water for their livestock to drink from and help prevent them from losing livestock due to low-quality water. Although research is important, it is also equally as important for scientists to communicate with the people that their research intends to benefit. Educating ranchers is an important aspect in applying what the researchers have learned. Without doing so, information to benefit ranchers and the environment, such as the most sustainable grazing method, would be at a loss.
To see even more research we went to Montana State University (MSU), where they showed us the research they are doing in sustainable farming and raising sheep. As for their sheep research, they were focused on learning the effects that Bighorn sheep and domestic sheep have on each other when living in close proximity. A big concern for Bighorn sheep is that domestic sheep, being raised for either for wool or meat, can pass on bacterial pneumonia. What makes controlling this passing of disease difficult is that domestic sheep can be perfectly healthy and still transmit the disease. On top of learning about the research being done at MSU, I got to see the kind of lifestyle of the students and others that live there.
Although most of Montana may seem desolate with few people to call your neighbor, Bozeman had a completely different feel. While exploring MSU’s campus and Bozeman’s downtown, which is only minutes away from campus, I loved that the heart of their lives are centered on the outdoors. With Yellowstone and plenty of other outdoor adventures nearby, it isn’t a wonder why being outside is an important part of life for those who go to MSU. Ice climbing, fly-fishing, hiking, and camping are some of the common activities that everyone partakes in. After learning of all of the research going on at MSU and getting a feel for their lifestyle, I’m considering seeing what Masters programs MSU has to offer for graduate school! At first I had never even considered going out west to get an education, but after seeing what MSU can offer the thought of going west to continue my education excites me!
Throughout our four days with Dr. Scott, we were exposed to research that is taking place on the plains of Montana. Much of the research that is taking place is in correlation with domestic animals and how they coexist with the wildlife that surrounds them. I greatly appreciated and loved hearing about all of the research being done to further expand our understanding of how wildlife and domestic livestock interact. It comforted me to know that people are actively trying to figure out what policies are suitable for managing land, either as crops or rangeland. I also found much of their research interesting, as it pertained to the relationships of domestic animals and wildlife. On top of seeing all the research that is being conducted, many of the researchers explained the importance of communicating and creating relationships with the landowners. By doing so, they become someone ranchers can come to for advice on how to properly manage their land and situations such as extreme drought. With proper techniques under their belt, this simple relationship between researcher and rancher can better the land that they live on.One important relationship that can exist is a rancher and a forester. We met with Gary Ellingston, who currently works for Northwest Management Incorporate as a forester. Gary said that as a private forester, he constantly tries to educate his clients why he is choosing to do certain prescriptions to the land and how he is carrying them out. The type of prescription that he assigns to the land depends on the history of the land and the intended use of the current owners. Most of the land in the west has been abused by previous owners who tried to extract as much as possible from the land to make as much of a profit as possible. As Gary put it, they wanted to “take the best and leave the rest.” With the knowledge of how the land was used prior to over harvesting much of its resources, the next step is to determine what the owners want out of the land. As it turns out wildlife is actually a big motivation for large, wealthy ranch owners who want to create hunting habitat for large game, such as elk. However, other owners may want to gain profit through timber harvesting or raising livestock. With these two primary questions in mind, this can help private foresters such as Gary to help create prescriptions for the land on how to get to the finished habitat that the owner desires.
To see some of the forefronts in research of livestock, we went to Fort Keogh. This large research facility primarily focuses on cattle genetics. However, we were also shown new data they had acquired from analyzing the water quality on their property. The reason behind this research was to find the cause of sudden death in cattle found consistently near water. The thought of the data only being around six hours old from being compiled together was thrilling to me. The process of sifting through the data to find patterns and correlations to finally come to a conclusion excites me! One aspect of their presentation I liked was that they encouraged ranchers to buy a device that calculated the turbidity of the water within minutes. With this, they could better choose bodies of water for their livestock to drink from and help prevent them from losing livestock due to low-quality water. Although research is important, it is also equally as important for scientists to communicate with the people that their research intends to benefit. Educating ranchers is an important aspect in applying what the researchers have learned. Without doing so, information to benefit ranchers and the environment, such as the most sustainable grazing method, would be at a loss.
To see even more research we went to Montana State University (MSU), where they showed us the research they are doing in sustainable farming and raising sheep. As for their sheep research, they were focused on learning the effects that Bighorn sheep and domestic sheep have on each other when living in close proximity. A big concern for Bighorn sheep is that domestic sheep, being raised for either for wool or meat, can pass on bacterial pneumonia. What makes controlling this passing of disease difficult is that domestic sheep can be perfectly healthy and still transmit the disease. On top of learning about the research being done at MSU, I got to see the kind of lifestyle of the students and others that live there.Although most of Montana may seem desolate with few people to call your neighbor, Bozeman had a completely different feel. While exploring MSU’s campus and Bozeman’s downtown, which is only minutes away from campus, I loved that the heart of their lives are centered on the outdoors. With Yellowstone and plenty of other outdoor adventures nearby, it isn’t a wonder why being outside is an important part of life for those who go to MSU. Ice climbing, fly-fishing, hiking, and camping are some of the common activities that everyone partakes in. After learning of all of the research going on at MSU and getting a feel for their lifestyle, I’m considering seeing what Masters programs MSU has to offer for graduate school! At first I had never even considered going out west to get an education, but after seeing what MSU can offer the thought of going west to continue my education excites me!
