President Hall Visits Wildlife Research Park

President Hall Visits Wildlife Research Park

President Hall got an up-close look at nature at the Millville Wildlife Research Park. He was accompanied by Extension VP Jack Payne and College of Natural Resources (CNR) Dean Fee Busby.

"There’s nothing like this center in the world," said John Shivik, supervisory research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Wildlife Research Center. "There’s no other research station with our academic credentials in canid biology." The success of the center is based, in part, on a unique relationship between federal biologists and Utah State University. Research activities add about $1.5 million each year to Utah’s economy and attract quality students and powerhouse researchers from around the world.

The applied research, which focuses exclusively on non-lethal techniques to control predator problems, benefits Wildlife Services across the country. The center also emphasizes applied research with native fish species and native plants.

People from around the West work here in collaborative partnerships to solve problems the rapidly urbanizing West is facing, said Todd Crowl, director of research for the College of Natural Resources.

The center is about finding solutions and solving problems, said Shivik. "We help provide a way to deal with endangered species." The center wants to be proactive on the potential problems that can occur when human and wildlife interests collide.

For example, one project involves the development of movement sensors. When bears stray too close to campgrounds in Yosemite, the sensor lets park rangers know. Another system keeps wolves away from livestock without harming wildlife.

Long-term goals, according to Busby, include an environmental education center for high school students, an interpretive wetland exhibit, experimental ponds and a state-of-the-art native species aquatic research facility. The site is ideal, offering every ecological niche from high mountains, uplands, riparian areas along the Blacksmith Fork River and lowland wetlands.

Contact: John Shivik, John.Shivik@aphis.usda.gov, (435) 797-1348