First Tuesday: Washington Predator-Prey Project

Wolves and Wildlife Dynamics in the Methow Valley and Beyond

When: Tuesday, March 7 at 7pm
Where: Zoom - Click here to watch the event recording on YouTube

Join us as four researchers from the Washington Predator-Prey Project, a collaborative study between the University of Washington and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, share preliminary findings from their research to understand how wildfires, human activity, and the return of wolves are shaping our local ecosystem.

In 2008, wolves began to recolonize Washington after nearly 80 years of absence, first establishing near the Methow Valley. This area supports a complex community of wildlife, including mule deer, white-tailed deer, moose, cougars, black bears, coyotes, and bobcats, leading to many questions about how wolves could influence ecological dynamics.

This event will be co-hosted by the Wenatchee River Institute. To learn more about their work, click here.

More information about our wonderful speakers:

Dr. Sarah Bassing is currently a researcher with the University of Idaho. She studies species interactions, human impacts on wildlife populations, and species distributions with the goal of informing wildlife conservation decisions. You can read more about her work at: https://www.sarahbassing.com/

Dr. Taylor Ganz is currently a researcher at the University of Washington where she studies how ungulate populations are influenced by predators, forage dynamics, and large-scale landscape change including wildfire, timber harvest, and climate change. You can read more about her work at her website: www.taylorganz.com

Lauren Satterfield is currently a researcher in the Predator Ecology Lab at the University of Washington, where they use a combination of advanced analytical methods and novel field approaches to study predator ecology, human-wildlife conflict, and ecosystem health. You can read more about their work at their project page: https://predatorpreyproject.weebly.com/wolf-cougar-interactions.html

Dr. Laura Prugh is an Associate Professor of Wildlife Sciences at the University of Washington. Her research examines the dynamics of wildlife populations and communities, with a particular focus on facilitation, trophic interactions, and changing winter ecology. Research in the Prugh lab uses a combination of intensive fieldwork, modeling techniques, meta-analyses, and interdisciplinary approaches to study the response of wildlife communities to global change. Current research focuses on ungulate-carnivore systems in Alaska and Washington. You can read more about her work at: http://www.prughlab.com/

Banner Photo by Sarah Bassing