Sustainability Leadership Fellowship Cohort: 2014-2015

Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

Research Summary: Advancements in drilling technology have allowed for economically feasible extraction of oil and natural gas across North America. This shift to domestic energy production has lead to the development of large tracts of public lands in the west, with negative impacts to wildlife species. Joseph’s research is based on understanding these impacts and how best to reduce and offset them, with a specific focus on mule deer. Mule deer populations have experienced major declines in recent decades and natural gas development has displaced deer from some areas. His work is focused on understanding the behavioral responses of deer to development and attempting to identify measures to mitigate these responses.