OSU club recognized at regional Wildlife Society meeting

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Nearly 50 students in Oklahoma State University’s Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management make up the OSU Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society.

Five of the group recently attended the Wildlife Society’s Western Wildlife Conclave in Texas and competed against a dozen schools from California to Washington to New Mexico and Oklahoma. The team placed in the top 3 in 11 of the 14 categories, earning them a 2^nd place overall finish.

“Extensive knowledge of ecology and wildlife management is required to perform well in these competitions,” said Lisa Elizondo, chapter president and NREM senior. “We reviewed academically before attending the meeting. Additionally, skills such as radio telemetry tracking and animal identification take a great deal of practice to master.”

The hard work and dedication paid off as this is the first year the OSU Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society competed in this region’s conclave.

“As the students placed in more and more of the individual events, it was exciting to realize that they had a shot at placing in the overall team standings,” said Sue Fairbanks, NREM assistant professor and chapter adviser. “I was so proud of the team for placing second overall, outcompeting many teams that were much larger.”

Elizondo was joined at the meeting by seniors Matt Pallett, fisheries; Kelly Boyer, natural history; Marli Claytor, wildlife ecology; and freshman Kalynn Branham, wildlife ecology. While the conclave does feature competitions, it also provides a valuable opportunity for students to meet their wildlife peers and learn about on-going research through presentations.

“We are a student chapter of a professional organization, and as such, the meetings we attend with other chapters and with the State TWS chapters provide networking opportunities to our members,” Elizondo said. “We also learn a great deal about ongoing research, both at OSU and across Oklahoma, through meeting attendance and through guest lecturers at our meetings.”