Vet Students Impacting Environmental Health

Shannon Rudin, University of Minnesota

During the summer and fall of 2017, I was lucky enough to partake in a research project that assessed forest habitat throughout the state of Idaho. The project was centered out of Lewiston, ID and funded by the Clearwater Basin Collaborative with additional partners, including Idaho Fish and Game, the National Forest Service, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The research project aimed to survey vegetation and test nutrition samples taken from the habitat provided in the Clearwater Basin Region in respects to its value to elk populations. My team focused on nutritional availability in a variety of forest types throughout the region, including Subalpine Fir, Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir and Ponderosa Pine. Research for this project began in 2014 after declining elk populations had been observed for years. As elk populations decline, there is a ripple effect that impacts the environment and other wildlife populations. Considering the quality and nutritional content available in habitats allows land management organizations to make more informed decisions to improve the habitat and therefore encourage population growth. Although my field season with this research project went by far too fast, I appreciate the opportunity to work with such a large collaboration that pulled together efforts to consider the quality of environment to support wildlife populations.