BOONE AND CROCKETT Club

The University of Wyoming has partnered with the Boone and Crockett Club to establish the Boone and Crockett Working Lands Wildlife Conservation Professorship in UW’s College of Agriculture, Life Sciences, and Natural Resources.

“The Boone and Crockett Club is pleased to add the University of Wyoming to its network of partnership universities, particularly with the unique focus on enhancing wildlife on working lands that will have application across the West,” says Steven Leath, the club’s executive vice president and chair of the University Programs Committee. “This research and extension focus, coupled with training our next generation of conservation professionals, will be critical to improving profitability on private lands while also benefiting natural resources.”

This professorship will provide faculty support, graduate student opportunities, and applied research focused on sustaining wildlife populations while strengthening the productivity and profitability of Wyoming’s working ranch and rangeland landscapes.

The Boone and Crockett professor will lead the establishment of UW’s Working Lands Wildlife Conservation Program, which will advance research, education, and extension in ranch and rangeland management, wildlife habitat conservation, and wildlife health.

The program directly supports the Boone and Crockett Club’s mission to promote the conservation and management of wildlife—especially big game—and its habitat while preserving hunting traditions and the highest ethical standards of fair chase and sportsmanship in North America.

Central to the program is the creation of the Boone and Crockett Professor of Working Lands Wildlife Conservation, a faculty position designed to bridge multiple academic units, including the departments of Zoology and Physiology, Botany, Animal Science, Agricultural and Applied Economics, and Ecosystem Science and Management. The position also will collaborate closely with the Ranch Management and Agricultural Leadership Program, the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station, UW Extension, and the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources.

In addition to on-campus collaboration, the program will work extensively with state and federal agency partners. A major focus will be the intersection of wildlife disease ecology and wildlife management, including chronic wasting disease (CWD), brucellosis, and other diseases affecting big game and livestock.

A key long-term objective of the program is the development of a UW Center for Wildlife Health, Habitat, and Management, which will work to ensure sustainable game populations for future generations.