Fuhlendorf selected for Groendyke Chair for Wildlife Conservation

Thursday, July 24, 2014

No name is more synonymous with wildlife conservation in Oklahoma than John Groendyke.

The Enid, Oklahoma native was recently confirmed to his sixth term on the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission, making him the longest-serving wildlife commissioner in the state’s history. He continues to leave his footprint all over the state as the Groendyke Chair for Wildlife Conservation was established at Oklahoma State University.

The endowed chair has been awarded to Sam Fuhlendorf, professor in OSU’s Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM). His responsibilities will include providing research-based information, instruction and outreach on the conservation, management and/or restoration of native plant communities as it relates to wildlife populations and habitats.

“It’s an honor to be selected for a chair that has been sponsored by a conservation leader such as Mr. Groendyke,” Fuhlendorf said. “I share his passion for support of Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, The Nature Conservancy and the wildlife and habitats of Oklahoma. It’s my goal to attempt to emulate his kind of leadership for conservation in Oklahoma, OSU and our department.”

Fuhlendorf has done much work on the conservation of native species through the use of prescribed burning during his time at OSU. Although his background training was in rangeland ecology, his research has always been about habitat management and he has conducted research on habitat management for a wide range of wildlife species.

“Wildlife habitat and populations are constantly changing and are being impacted by energy development, droughts, and changes in land use, urbanization and climate,” said Keith Owens, NREM department head. “The Groendyke Chair provides additional resources to address how we can mitigate these changes. Dr. Fuhlendorf is an excellent fit for this chair because of his extensive research and teaching experience in landscape ecology and habitat management.

The Groendyke Chair will help OSU continue to be a leader in the wildlife conservation world, and Fuhlendorf is excited about these new possibilities.

“I will use the support associated with this chair to enhance our collaborative team and search out additional money through state and federal support to continue the tradition at OSU of being the region’s best research, outreach and education group focused on conservation,” Fuhlendorf said.