People


Faculty Advisors

Dr. David Jachowski

Dr. Jachowski is an Assistant Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Clemson University with over 15 years of experience in working and doing research on the Great Plains.  Dr. Jachowski has worked on species ranging from sage grouse to bison, with a majority of his career in the prairie focused on the restoration of the critically endangered black-footed ferret.

As director of the Clemson Prairie Ecology program, his goal has been to provide undergraduate and graduate students with exposure to the ecology and working landscape that is the great plains through structured research and work experience programs.  

Dr. Jachowski's webpage



Dr. Matias Aguerre

Dr. Aguerre's research focuses on ways to improve nutrient use efficiency in livestock production systems through novel (e.g. low lignin alfalfa, BMR forages, and cover crops), greater and more efficient use of high quality forages in livestock diets.  He is also interested in determining how changes in dietary forage concentration and type (i.e. corn silage, grasses, and legumes) affects lactation performance, nutrient utilization and excretion, between different breeds. The outcomes of the proposed research activities will contribute to improving the efficiency of forage utilization by livestock (conversion of feed N and C into milk and meat) and reduce the release of labile C and N to the environment due to the inefficiency of production (conversion of feed N and C into animal “waste”). In addition, it will help protect air, water quality, and reduce consumer’s concerns about the environmental impact of animal production (e.g., carbon footprint of milk, and N-related water and air quality pollution from dairy farms). 




Dr. Don Hagan


Dr. Hagan is an ecologist who studies the effects of fire and plant invasions on population, community and ecosystem-level processes in forest ecosystems. He conducts most of his research in the southern Appalachian and Piedmont regions, but he has also worked extensively in the SE Coastal Plain, Florida, and in the tropical dry forests of coastal Ecuador. Current research projects are supported by the Joint Fire Science Program, the US Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the USDA Conservation Innovation Grant program. Hagan is passionate about teaching and mentoring and is heavily involved with Clemson's Creative Inquiry undergraduate research program. He serves as faculty advisor for the Student Association for Fire Ecology, and works closely with the "Fire Tigers" -- Clemson's wildland and prescribed fire crew. Since 2015 he has served on the board of the Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists.



Dr. Tom Scott

Dr. Scott is the former Dean of the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences as well as current faculty member of the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences.  In addition to advising the Montana Summer Program, Dr. Scott teaches courses on Animal Health (AVS 3100), Creative Inquiry (Thornwell Farm Project), CAFLS Plus (Professional Development & Leadership), and advises undergraduate and graduate students.  His research focuses on immunology and animal health, with a primary research focus on immunity of poultry species
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Graduate Students

Keifer Titus

Keifer grew up in southwestern Virginia and received his B.S. in Environmental Biology with a minor in Geospatial Science from Radford University in 2016. While at Radford, Keifer worked with a variety of taxa including endangered bats, crested anole lizards, and small Indian-mongoose. Following his B.S., Keifer began an M.S. in Biology with a minor in GIScience at Ball State University in Indiana. His thesis research focused on the community level impacts of various timber harvesting techniques on bat populations in southern Indiana. This work was a part of a 100-year ecological study known as the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment. For his PhD research at Clemson, Keifer is studying human-wildlife coexistence in the Northern Great Plains of Montana. 



Alumni

Keifer Titus, PhD (2018-2023), "An integrative approach to modelling human-wildlife coexistence landscapes in the Northern Great Plains."

Sze Wing Yu, MS (2018-2021), "American bison impacts on riparian and wallow vegetation communities."

Andrew Butler, MS (2016-2019), "Behavior and population ecology of swift fox in northeastern Montana."  

Stephen Harris, MS (2016-2018), "Florida spotted skunks in a dry prairie ecosystem."  

Jennifer Froehly, MS (2016-2018), "Loggerhead shrike habitat selection in South Carolina."  

​Nic McMillan, MS (2015-2017), "Plant community responses to bison reintroduction within Montana's Northern Great Plains."  


Undergraduate Students

Each summer we take a group of Clemson Undergraduate students to our base of operations at the Clemson Prairie Ecology Lab in Roundup, Montana for a June minimester course on the ecology of the Great Plains.  Student stories and more about the program can be seen on the blog homepage.

Summer 2016





Summer 2017


Summer 2018

Summer 2019

Summer 2022






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