Environment

Meet the new faculty of 2023

The breadth of scholarly interests and teaching expertise of the college’s newest faculty—from environmental humanities and many-body physics to economic globalization and the history of visual storytelling—enriches and expands the arts and sciences across the WSU system. Click “read more” to learn a little about each of these new faculty members. Arts & Humanities | […]

Wogmans commit $5M through estate plans to support STEM teaching and research

Growing up in Spokane during the 1940s and ‘50s, Dr. Ned Wogman enjoyed a perfectly happy childhood. There was tennis. There was music. A younger brother. One thing there wasn’t—enough money between parents Walfred and Lela Wogman to send Ned to college, no matter how many lawns were mowed and no matter how much snow […]

A haven for Canada lynx

Glacier National Park is home to around 50 Canada lynx, more than expected, surprising scientists who recently conducted the first parkwide occupancy survey for the North American cat.  The Washington State University-led survey reveals the iconic predator resides across most of Glacier’s 1,600 square-mile landscape, although at lower densities than in the core of its […]

Preserving the Puget Sound shoreline

Washington State University is partnering with conservation organizations to protect an ecologically important portion of Puget Sound shoreline along Henderson Inlet, south of Olympia. The agreement between Capitol Land Trust (CLT), WSU, and affiliated groups, including the Squaxin Island Tribe, will also provide environmental research and education opportunities to the entire region. The land trust […]

Human hikers effect wildlife behavior

Even without hunting rifles, humans appear to have a strong negative influence on the movement of wildlife. A study of Glacier National Park hiking trails during and after a COVID-19 closure adds evidence to the theory that humans can create a “landscape of fear” like other apex predators, changing how species use an area simply […]

Faculty named to Highly Cited Researchers list

Nathan McDowell, a national laboratory researcher jointly appointed to Washington State University’s School of Biological Sciences and affiliated with the School of the Environment, is one of five WSU faculty members recognized in this year’s Highly Cited Researchers list. The five are among the top 1% most cited researchers in the world.

Felsot named American Chemical Society fellow

Allan Felsot, a professor and extension specialist associated with the School of the Environment at WSU Tri-Cities, is among 45 members of the American Chemical Society recently honored as new fellows of 2022. “I’m very honored to be recognized for the work I’ve done,” Felsot said. “It does make me feel like I’ve impacted my […]

Drones show potential to improve salmon nest counts

Struggling salmon populations could get some help from the sky. A Washington State University study showed that drone photography of the Wenatchee River during spawning season can be effective in estimating the number of rocky hollows salmon create to lay their eggs, also called “redds.”   The drone imagery appeared to find roughly double the […]

Increasing evidence that bears are not carnivores

A new study on the diets of giant pandas and sloth bears led by Charles Robbins, a Washington State University wildlife biology professor, adds evidence that bears are omnivores like humans and need a lot less protein than they are typically fed in zoos. Bears are not cats or dogs, and feeding them like they […]