About Birds & Nature

ENJOY & LEARN

Photo Credit: Diane Birdsall

Photo Courtesy Dr Kevin L Monteith

Special Program!

Special Date! This Wed. Nov. 12

6:00 pm - LIVE presentation
5:30 pm - social time to meet and chat!

"Bighorn Sheep Life History
& Nutritional Ecology"

Dr. Kevin L. Monteith

Professor of Natural Resource Science, Univ. of Wyoming

Professor and Wyoming Excellence Chair in UW’s Haub School of Environment & Natural Resources and the Wyoming Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit

FREE and open to all!

In person only, no zoom

Teton County Library
125 Virginian Lane, Jackson, WY

About the Presentation

The JH Bird & Nature Club is very excited to host one of Wyoming's most respected experts in the conservation of wild ungulates! Kevin Monteith's research aims to produce a scientific basis for habitat-based, sustainable management of ungulate populations, including Bighorn Sheep. Through intensive field studies of individual animals over many years, he seeks to understand the influences on their behavior, growth, reproduction, and survival. Assessment of nutrition is a key component which then gives a better sense of what is driving populations. Such long-term, empirical data is key to effectively informing on-the-ground management decisions. For this program, Kevin will focus on Bighorn Sheep, the iconic species of the Rocky Mountains. We'll take some extra time for questions after the program. We feel this program will be one of the most interesting and in-depth research topics of 2025! Be sure not to miss it!

Photo Courtesy Dr. Kevin L Monteith

Photo Credit: Dan Minkin

About the Presenter

Kevin Monteith is the Principal investigator of his research group, the Monteith Shop, which is focused on providing a scientific basis for management and conservation of ungulates. Through intensive field studies, they connect individual animals to their environment to learn what influences their behavior, growth, reproduction, and survival in the face of a changing world. Learning about these species in a way that can shape on-the-ground decisions is contingent upon such long-term, empirical data. The overarching goal of his group is to provide meaningful contributions to the field of wildlife ecology while effectively informing management decisions. By studying nutritional ecology, we can learn how habitat and other environmental factors influence individuals, and then understand how individuals come together to make up a whole population. By looking at individuals and populations over many years, we start to get a better sense of what is driving populations.

In 2023, Dr. Monteith was named a Fellow of The Wildlife Society, a singular honor in the world of wildlife field research. John Koprowski, also a Wyoming Excellence Chair and the Haub School’s dean, said “I simply cannot imagine a person more deserving in his scholarship, teaching and service to our TWS community and our profession. In a state where our wild and working lands connect us, Dr. Monteith understands and actively serves the state through his scholarship that informs management decisions and dozens of public talks that engage our fellow citizens. His ability to engage the conservation community and land management agencies beyond campus is exceptional.”

Paul Krausman, past president of The Wildlife Society and a TWS Fellow, calls Monteith “a world-class ungulate ecologist.”

Before coming to UW, Monteith received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in wildlife and fisheries sciences from South Dakota State University and his Ph.D. in biology from Idaho State University. He has worked with over 30 management agencies and resource groups, secured over 325 grants and published over 95 journal articles and book chapters while mentoring 19 graduate students -- six Ph.D. and 13 M.S. degree recipients.

“Kevin exemplifies exceptional service to the wildlife biology profession as evidenced by his extremely productive research program, dedication to the informational needs of his cooperators and collaborators, teaching and mentoring activities, and other professional service,” says Associate Professor Anna Chalfoun, assistant leader of UW’s Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.