The Starkey Team

Pacific Northwest Research Station
Forestry and Range Sciences Lab
1401 Gekeler Lane
La Grande, OR 97850

Michael Wisdom, Ph.D., Team Leader
mwisdom@fs.fed.us
541-962-6532

Mike has worked on ungulate research and management issues in western North America during the past 30 years, including work for the Starkey Project over the past 25 years. His primary focus is on landscape ecology, disturbance ecology, and effects of human activities in relation to ungulates and other wildlife.

Marty Vavra, Ph.D., Research Wildlife Biologist
mvavra@fs.fed.us
541-962-6561

Marty’s research emphases include the effects of ungulates on the processes, structure and composition of plant communities and ecosystems; nutritional ecology of ungulates; livestock/wildlife relationships; ungulate behavior; livestock grazing management; and the influences of disturbance, forest and range management practices on ungulates. He has had 40 years of experience working in Eastern Oregon.

Mary Rowland, Wildlife biologist
mrowland@fs.fed.us
541-962-6582

Mary's current research focuses on development and validation of resource selection models for elk during summer in Washington and Oregon . The models incorporate telemetry and other data from the Starkey Project for both model training and validation. Other research interests include 1) effects of human disturbance, especially roads and traffic, on deer and elk, 2) threats assessment in sagebrush ecosystems, and 3) development of habitat monitoring protocols. Mary began working with the Starkey Project in 1992. She has a B.S. degree in zoology from Duke University and a M.S. degree in wildlife biology from Colorado State University.

Brian Dick, Starkey Area Manager
bldick@fs.fed.us
541-962-6539

Currently Brian is in charge of field operations for Starkey Project research, and management of the Starkey Experimental Forest and Range. His education includes a B.S. in Wildlife Management from Humboldt State and a M.S. in Range Science from Utah State. Before joining the Starkey Project in 1992, he worked for Nevada BLM.

Cheryl Borum, Information Technology Specialist
cborum@fs.fed.us
541-962-6566

Cheryl heads up the GPS tracking system used on the Starkey Project. She has worked for the Starkey Project since 1987 and is part of the newly formed Data Team, which is responsible for managing the Project data. Cheryl earned her B.S. in Animal Science from Oregon State University, and worked 4 years as the Assistant Editor for the Journal of Animal Science.

Ryan Kennedy, Range Technician
rkennedy01@fs.fed.us
541-962-6568

Ryan has worked for the Starkey Project since 1987 and assists with wildlife trapping, winter feed ground operations, building and fence construction and maintenance, and vegetation monitoring. He received his B.S in Rangeland Management from Oregon State University.

Dennis Rea, Carpenter
dbrea@fs.fed.us
541-962-6567

Dennis assists with building and fence construction and maintenance, wildlife trapping, winter feeding, and anything else that needs to get done. He has worked for the Starkey Project since the early 2000’s.

Jennifer Boyd, Biological Technician
jmboyd@fs.fed.us
541-962-6527

As a technician, Jen works with field crews, GIS analysis, database management, and telemetry/GPS management and analysis. She has worked on a variety of projects and subject areas at Starkey and surrounding areas such as; entomology, amphibian, ungulate, botany, recreation, hunting, and herbivory. She is currently working on a regional project for modeling elk forage nutrition and elk habitat selection.

Bridgett Naylor, Geographer
bnaylor@fs.fed.us
541-962-6564

Bridgett’s primary focus is on developing and utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing technologies to support the Starkey Project and more specifically support vegetation/ungulate interactions, invasive plant, and fire research. Her work includes compiling and generating geospatial layers, conducting spatial analysis, and designing and developing databases to support many Starkey projects. Additionally, she helps manage and organize field data collection efforts, including incorporating data generated with global positioning systems (GPS). Bridgett has worked for the Starkey Project since 2001 and she received her B.A. in Physics and Environmental Studies from Whitman College.

Other Cooperators

Catherine Parks, Ph.D., Research Ecologist
Bryan Endress, Ph.D., Plant Ecologist
Tim Delcurto, Ph.D.
Ryan Limb, Ph.D.
John Cook, Ph.D.
Rachel Cook, Ph.D.
Bruce Johnson, Ph.D.
Pricilla Coe, Wildlife Biologist
Scott Finholt, Ph.D., Wildlife Biologist
Greg Davidson, Wildlife Biologist
Nigel Seidel, GIS Specialist
Bob Riggs, Ph.D.
Haiganoush Preisler, Ph.D.
Alan Ager, Ph.D.
David Brillinger
John Kie, Ph.D.
Terry Bowyer, Ph.D.
Kelley Stewart, Ph.D.
Ryan Long