Student Researchers

Graduate Research
Taylor also offers ample opportunities for graduate research. Projects may be independent or may have some degree of integration with an advisor's existing long-term project at Taylor. Many of Taylor's graduate students have gone on to have outstanding careers in the field of natural resource management. 

Recent projects have included:

• monitoring of whitebark pine blister rust;
• movement and habitat selection of prairie rattlesnakes;
• a study of Big Creek basin hydrology;
• variation in habitat quality for juvenile Chinook salmon.

Undergraduate Research
Opportunities for hands-on, research-based learning abound within the College of Natural Resources. The Taylor Wilderness Research Station Undergraduate Research Scholar Award is just one example of how our students benefit from our wilderness facilities, outdoor classrooms, and overall commitment to learning by doing. Working with a faculty advisor, this scholarship program gives recipients the opportunity to design a research proposal on a topic they choose. They then test their hypotheses in the field, write a scientific report of their research findings, and publish and or present their research to peers and faculty.

This research program began in the summer of 2001 and has included a variety of projects, including a study of: 

• Stream vegetation and riparian food webs
• Salmon habitat
• Elk Survival
• Amphibians of Big Creek
• Bighorn sheep lamb survival
• Bat survey
• Marmot distribution
• Fishermen survey along Big Creek
• Lewis' woodpecker nesting
• American marten and fisher
• Mountain whitefish
• Blue Grouse