Chairman's Comments Welcome to the website for the Department of Natural Resources Management at Texas Tech University. Our students, faculty members, and staff are involved in state-of-the-art programs to manage natural resources wisely while meeting needs of our society. This web site provides an overview of exciting research, teaching, and outreach programs in our department. Please examine the website and if you find things that you would like to know more about, contact us for information. We are particularly pleased to talk with students and their families about undergraduate and graduate education opportunities at Texas Tech University.
Our three undergraduate majors provide strong backgrounds for students wishing to go to graduate school, attend law school or pursue other professional training, or accept a job with an agency or industry that manages natural resources. Students that graduate from our program with master’s or doctoral degrees are typically hired by universities for faculty positions or by industry, government agencies, or conservation organizations for research or management positions. Others become ranch managers, environmental consultants, or start their own businesses. We are training the next generation of professional wildlife and fisheries biologists, range mangers, and conservation ecologists. These specialists will help our society deal with emerging issues related to declining supplies of water, oil and gas extraction, wind power generation, growing threats to safe food supplies, and the decline of many species of wild plants and animals. We actively recruit outstanding students throughout Texas and the nation. We are expanding cooperative training and research opportunities with universities in Mexico and other nations. Research by our faculty members and graduate students is recognized nationally and internationally for helping solve environmental problems and bringing about change in government policy for more sustainable programs. Our graduates hold leadership positions in many state and national government agencies, private foundations, and universities. The university is emphasizing excellence in all of its programs. The Department of Natural Resources Management is committed to providing quality teaching and other learning experiences to prepare our students to successfully meet future natural resource management demands, conducting quality research to help solve natural resource problems, and to providing outreach services to the public and natural resources managers. I am pleased to be part of this department. Contact me if you need information about our undergraduate or graduate programs, research findings, or other work. We welcome your interest in our department and Texas Tech University. Dr. Phil Gipson, Chairman SELECTED FACULTY ACCOMPLISHMENTS Dr. Warren B. Ballard was selected to be the recipient of the CASNR Research Award. This award is in recognition of outstanding research, scholarship and creative activity. Dr. David B. Wester was selected to be the recipient of the President's Academic Achievement Award. This award is in recognition of excellence in achievement across the teaching-research-service missions of the University. Dr. Gad Perry was selected to be the recipient of the CASNR Outstanding Junior Faculty Award. This award is in recognition of excellence in innovative teaching activities, initiation of research/creative activities, and interaction with students. Dr. Warren B. Ballard was selected to be the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award given by the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society. This award is in recognition of his outstanding service to the profession. Dr. Chris Taylor serves as a member of the Board of Governors for the American Society of Ichthyologists. Dr. Gad Perry is serving as President of the Texas Herpetological Society. Dr. Warren B. Ballard was selected to be the recipient of the Best Monograph Award by The Wildlife Society. The paper was entitled "Pathogens, Nutritional Deficiency, and Climate Influences on a Declining Moose Population". The co-authors were Dennis Murray, Eric Cox, Heather Whitlaw, Mark Lenarz, Tom Custer, Terri Barnett, and Todd Fuller. Dr. Sandra Rideout-Hanzak serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Association for Fire Ecology. Dr. Reynaldo Patiño is serving as the President of the Texas Tech University Chapter of Phi Beta Delta an honor society of international scholars. | SELECTED STUDENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS Rita Herbert received a scholarship from the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society. Matt Butler received the First Place Award in the Cottam competion at the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting. Emily Thiemann received recognition from the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society as the Outstanding Student from Texas Tech University. Cheeyakapuvanda Cariappa and Joseph Sosa were named as recipients of the James Douglas/Mary Hazlewood Fellowship. Anthony Giordano was named as the recipient of a Helen DeVitt Jones Graduate Fellowship. Bibek Sharma received the First Place Award for his poster presentation at the Desert Southwest Chapter of the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Angie Reid and Matt Orr were designated as Outstanding Students in the Department of Natural Resources Management by the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Angie Reid was recognized by the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources as having the Highest Academic Achievement in the Department of Natural Resources Management. Bart Durham was named as the Outstanding Graduate Student in the Department of Natural Resources Management by the Honor Society Gamma Sigma Delta. Tyler Hawkins was the Third Place Individual in the Texas Section of the Society for Range Management Plant Identification Contest. Tyler Hawkins, Marshall Bailey, Howard T. Crenshaw, Patience Knight, Katie O'Rourke, Sarah Rode, and Francisco (Coy) Sanchez were members of the Third Place Team in the Texas Section of the Society for Range Management Plant Identification Contest. Bibek Sharma received the First Place Poster Award at the International Conference on Water in Arid and Semiarid Environments. Caleb Huber received the Second Place Poster Award at the International Conference on Water in Arid and Semiarid Environments. Alexandra Torres recently completed a semester long congressional internship in Washington
D. C. | SELECTED ALUMNI ACCOMPLISHMENTS Dr. Larry D. Butler (BS-WMGT-1974) recently retired from the United States Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service. Larry had served as State Conservationist of Texas. Dr. Butler is now doing private consulting work in the area of natural resource management. Jeffrey R. Weigel (MS-RSCI-1987) was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Department of Natural Resources Management. Jeff has worked for more than 20 years with The Nature Conservancy in Texas. His citation recognized "his outstanding contributions to the field of conservation and his demonstrated leadership in protecting and managing natural resources throughout North America". Dr. Guy R. McPherson (MS-RSCI-1984; PhD-RSCI-1987) is the co-author of "Living with Fire: Fire Ecology and Policy for the Twenty-first Century" a soon to be published volume from the University of California Press about fire ecology and fire policy. Phillip Cooley (BS-WMGT-1993; MS-RSCI-1998) is currently working for the Bureau of Land Management in Denver, Colorado as a Rangeland Management Specialist. Phillip reports that he is now married and there are four children in the family. Brandi McFadden (BS-ECNR-2006) reports that she and Michael (Mac) are living in the Austin area and both are enjoying their jobs. He is working at the District Clerks Office and is learning the judicial ropes. Brandi works at a veterinary clinic and also volunteers at the LBJ Wildflower center. Jena Moon ( BS-WMGT-2002; MS- WSCI-2004) is the Wetlands and Waterfowl Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Lower Rio Grande National Wildlife Refuge Complex near Harlingen, Texas. She is responsible for management and monitoring of numerous wetland tracts within the Lower Rio Grande, Santa Anna, and Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuges. Ben May (BS-ECNR-2003; MS-RSCI-2006) and his wife Sarah announced the birth of Benjamin Keller May on March 14, 2007. At 9 pounds 13 ounces and 20.5 inches in length the young Mr. May ruled the nursery!! Lisa Brennan ( PhD-WSCI-2005) is an Assistant Professor of Wildlife Biology in the Department of Biological Sciences at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville, Arkansas. |
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