Research Organizations
Opportunities for undergraduates and graduate students to participate in research programs, as part of their degree program or as summer employment and study, include research on the ecology of endangered species, restoration of damaged ecosystems, wildlife habitat management, remote sensing and analysis of the environment, wilderness issues, and environmental policy analysis. More information on research in the college is given below and featured in Focus, the annual report of the college.
     Key research groups are listed alphabetically, with links to more information.

Annual funding support for research exceeds  $11,000,000. Of that, some $6,000,000 comes from grants and contracts to college faculty.    

Aquaculture Research Institute (ARI). Promotes, supports, directs and coordinates aquaculture research activities at the UI and throughout Idaho. Through the institute, UI scientists from various disciplines conduct research in both commercial and conservation aquaculture sciences and technologies such as fish culture and production efficiency, fish pathology and health, fish waste management and water quality assurance, aquaculture marketing and economics, and rehabilitation of endangered species. The ARI does not offer degrees. Rather, it assists academic departments in the training of graduate-level students by providing an aquaculture emphasis within their degree programs.

Forest Biometrics Lab. Projects emphasize quantitative aspects of research and teaching of any forest resource. Quantitative issues in forestry, such as measurement, estimation, and inference, are becoming more important as the management of forest resources becomes more intensive.

Also see
Experimental Forest
Forest Research Nursery

Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station (FWR). Staff includes all members of the college faculty, full-time research associates and technicians, and graduate student appointees. The program of the experiment station is closely connected with the graduate training program. Many graduate students are on assistantships associated with station projects. The station staff conducts research on a wide variety of renewable natural resource management problems in the areas of forestry, forest products, range, wildland recreation, wildlife and fisheries.

Hornocker Wildlife Institute. Founded by Dr. Maurice Hornocker, the institute conducts long-term research on threatened species and sensitive ecological systems. It is a private, nonprofit, service-based organization, funded by grants, contracts, and contributions. The Hornocker Wildlife Institute is a world leader in carnivore research and conservation, integrating scientific and broad-based ecosystem approaches with cultural and economic factors. Research focuses on our knowledge of the natural world. By training and developing superior postgraduate and graduate scientists, the ultimate goal is to add to the scientific knowledge base and assist agencies charged with managing wilderness and wild lands. Activities at Hornocker Wildlife Institute are based on the premise that good science ultimately leads to good conservation.
Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. Involves the UI, Idaho Fish and Game Department, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Wildlife Management Institute in Washington D.C. It conducts research to find answers to a broad spectrum of fish and wildlife resource questions and concerns. Issues addressed are of local, national and international interest. Graduate students are trained at both the master's and doctoral levels. The unit provides in-service training for new and established conservation agency employees and provides technical assistance and information to the public.
Idaho Cooperative Park Studies Unit. Applies results of sociological and biological research to the management of parks, preserves, and recreation areas. Because major funding comes from the Pacific Northwest Region of the National Park Service, the unit has a primary responsibility to Park Service areas in Idaho, Washington and Oregon. The unit is also involved in several research projects of national and international scope. An important mission of the unit is extension, working directly with resource managers to help solve resource management problems.

Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Policy Analysis Group. A research program of the Idaho Forest, Wildlife and Range Experiment Station created by the Idaho legislature to provide timely and objective analyses of natural resource issues of importance to Idaho citizens. Graduate students are involved in specific short-term tasks to support policy analysis projects. Graduate students are trained at the doctoral level with funding from other sources. 
Inland Northwest Forest Products Research Consortium. The Inland-Northwest Forest Products Research Consortium represents a cooperative effort between the Forest Products Department at the University of Idaho, the Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, and the Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory at Washington State University. The Consortium utilizes a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional approach to solve forest-industry problems unique to the Inland Northwest. It is funded by a special grant from the USDA CSREES.
Idaho Water Resources Research Institute. The Idaho Water Resources Research Institute was established at UI by the regents on October 24, 1963. The program is administered by the U.S. Geological Survey of the U.S. Department of Interior to stimulate, sponsor, coordinate and supplement research, education and outreach programs in the field of water resources. The institute serves the state by developing and coordinating water research programs intended to assure the state, region and nation adequate supplies of high-quality water.
Intermountain Forest Tree Nutrition Cooperative (IFTNC). The IFTNC is a research cooperative composed of public and private forestry organizations. The research area covers the intermountain northwest, from the east side of the Cascades to the west side of the Rocky Mountains. The IFTNC currently maintains approximately 250 permanent study plot areas in Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Montana. Current research areas for the IFTNC include examination of the effect of varying levels of nitrogen and potassium fertilization on forest growth and health, and the establishment of plantations on contrasting rock types. The IFTNC is also actively involved in researching relationships between geology and forest health. IFTNC staff has recently given several workshops on forest health and geology for Extension Forestry. For further information on relationships between forest health and geology, please contact Extension Forestry (http://www.ets.uidaho.edu/extforest/)
Landscape Dynamics Lab. The Landscape Dynamics Lab is a collaborative research facility of the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, at the University of Idaho. Our mission is to better understand the distributions and interactions of wildlife species and landscape components in order to promote the sustainability and ecological integrity of terrestrial ecosystems at local, regional, and subcontinental geographic scales. Objectives:
  • To better understand the ways in which the distributions and demographics of wildlife and other biotic elements are related to the current geographic distributions of natural and anthropogenic communities
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  • To identify the responses of wildlife and other biotic elements to changes in the distribution of land cover and land use.
  • To facilitate understanding of how humans affect the earth's ecology.

Remote Sensing and GIS Research Unit. Mission is to conduct basic and applied research in the use of remote sensing and GIS technologies for the inventory, monitoring, and modeling of managed and natural ecosystems. Support strategic research initiatives of the Department, College and University. Its purpose is to understand ecosystem structure and function, and promote sustainable land management through the integration of advanced tools, analysis methods, and knowledge.

Wilderness Research Center (WRC). The University-wide WRC created in 1969, is located in the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Range Sciences. The staff conducts and facilitates research by faculty, cooperators, and graduate students on wilderness and related topics. The WRC sponsors a Distinguished Lecture Series and teaches several wilderness related undergraduate and graduate classes. Research focuses on (1) wilderness ecosystem research and monitoring and (2) use of wilderness for recreation, personal growth, therapy, education and leadership development.

Laboratory of Ecological and Conservation Genetics (LECG). LECG focuses on the genetic analysis of a variety of plant and animal species. LECG researchers are currently involved with species ranging from bears and red wolves to trout and sturgeon to willows and whitebark pine. Because all faculty at the College of Natural Resources are welcome to use the LECG facilities, the list of possible study species is endless. Genetic data from these species is analyzed for a number of purposes; the core goals of the LECG are listed below
  • Conservation and management of rare and endangered species
  • Biodiversity assessment
  • Phylogentic Analysis
  • Genetic analysis of natural populations
  • Non-invasive sampling techniques
  • Molecular approaches to breeding and pathology

Learn about specific projects currently underway.

Fishery / Forest Products / Forest Resources /
Rangeland Ecology / Resource Recreation & Tourism / Wildlife
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