Home Range Wildlife Research

Our mission is to advance wildlife conservation by conducting high-quality research, educating aspiring biologists, and engaging local communities. In the face of vast environmental and social changes, we are committed to wildlife conservation grounded in rigorous field based science and long term connection to our landscape. We aim to build a diverse and inclusive community of people that are equipped to tackle our most pressing wildlife conservation challenges.

Our work acts like three legs of a stool to support conservation:

Research

Lynx and Wildfire Project

Lynx in Washington were listed as endangered by the state government in 2016 in large part due to habitat loss from increasing fires, but no recommendations for addressing the issue were developed because very little scientific knowledge of how lynx use different burned habitats exists. Indeed, all foundational lynx conservation strategies are based on lynx habitat research conducted in the 1990’s and early 2000’s at the tail end of the fire suppression era and just before our current megafire era began. During this time, the North Cascades landscape was largely void of burned habitats. Consequently, we have relied on lynx research conducted across the homogenized forest structures that dominated the fire suppression era and have a limited understanding of how lynx use a landscape shaped by fires. Furthermore, lynx researchers have only recently begun to engaged in cross-disciplinary research with fire ecologists to learn what might be done to dampen the effects of megafires and return the landscape to a more historical patchwork with a pattern of smaller, more frequent fires that lynx once thrived on. 

This project aims to understand how lynx use burned areas, and collect the information needed to recommend management actions that will create more resilient forests and conserve lynx populations threatened by megafires into the future.

Learn more:
- Project webpage
- Video: Lynx on a Scorched Landscape

Recreation impacts to wildlife

Home Range partnered with Conservation Northwest in 2022 to produce a summary report on the existing literature documenting the impacts of recreation to wildlife. Read the full report here.

Education

Field skills training program

HRWR offers practical training programs to teach the field skills aspiring biologists and conservationists need to prepare themselves for entry into the workforce. These skills, often difficult to obtain, range from the basics like operating 4-wheel drive vehicles and snowmobiles to more advanced techniques like telemetry and mortality-site investigation. Since our pilot course offering in 2022 we have taught over 90 participants in various skills. Utilizing these new skills, participants can begin a successful career in wildlife research and conservation, placing more of the best and brightest scientific minds in a position to make a difference for wildlife.

We believe impactful conservation starts on the ground with high quality data collection, and that the field skills necessary for collecting that data require the proper training. Not only are formal field training programs few and far between, but financial, geographical, and cultural barriers can prevent a large portion of aspiring biologists from acquiring the training they need. For some, these barriers may cause them to miss critical opportunities to advance their early careers while others may not enter the wildlife workforce at all. This unbalanced access to skills development is a key driver of the diversity gap in the workforce, where those with financial stability, existing outdoor experiences, and access to networks of mentors have a significant advantage over those without. Aspiring biologists from underrepresented backgrounds, including local Indigenous communities and other people of color, are particularly impacted by this disparity. Our goal is to close the gap between the skills necessary for fieldwork and the opportunities available to gain those skills.

See current training opportunities here. 

Community engagement

Human-Bear Coexistence

This project is a community-driven initiative aimed at reducing human-black bear conflict in Washington’s Methow Valley. As climate change, wildfire-altered habitats, and residential development bring people and bears into closer contact, the project combines applied research, education, and volunteer-based monitoring to promote safe, science-informed coexistence.

At the heart of the project is a robust community science program that enlists community volunteers to collect data and act as wildlife ambassadors. Each year, over 30 volunteers help survey for five key fruiting shrub species across the Methow Valley Watershed, collect and analyze bear scat, and maintain trail cameras. Understanding natural food availability as it relates to human interactions with bears is vital for coexistence. 

Read the 2024 Methow Valley Community Bear Assessment here.