1940s
Erling “Punch” Podoll, ’48, There should be whole-hearted agreement that the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences faculty should be applauded for their exemplary performance.
1960s
Carrol Calkins, ’60, The year 2000 has been a memorable year for me. It started off with being nominated for the position of Associate Dean of Agriculture/Director of the Agricultural Research Center at Washington State University, Pullman, WA. I finished in the top three but was not fortunate to get the job. It was an honor just to be in the running even though I did not have any university experience. In May, I received, as coordinator of an areawide program for suppression of codling moth, the Technology Transfer Award given by the Consortium of 700 Federal Laboratories. The award was presented aboard the Aircraft Yorktown in Charleston, SC. In June, I received an Honors Award for our areawide program for reducing pesticides by 80% on apples in the western U.S. I plan to retire on December 1, 2001, after 41 years with the Agricultural Research Service. I’m looking to spend some time in South Dakota looking up my old fishing and hunting haunts.
Thomas Novotny, ’63, Retired from FMC-Corp.-APE Jan. 3, 2000. We are traveling: AK-fishing, China-2001. Spending time at our Black Hills cabin and time at the farm. Visitors welcome if you can find us home.
1970s
Paul Bultsma, BS ’73, MS ’76, I have been working for Ducks Unlimited for 10 years and enjoy it much. I deliver habitat projects in North and South Dakota. DU just moved into a new building in Bismarck and now has 45 staff members.
Maureen Beckstead, MS ’77, After more than 15 years in State and Federal Service, I began self-employment about 5 years ago. I design landscapes using native plants and own my retail nature store. Hope you can use the print for the hallways.
1990s
Steve Spawn, ’93, My wife Elizabeth and I had a daughter, Abigail Marie, November 23, 2000. She joins a brother, Nathanial, 4, and a sister, Kathryn, 2. I have enjoyed working as a private lands specialist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Lake Andes NWR since 1993.
Cody Wilson, BS ’95, I just accepted a position at the Fort Randall Project in South Dakota. It is a GS-12 Supervisory Natural Resource Specialist with the Corps of Engineers. Life has been good here at Fort Peck, MT, but it is time to move on and move up.
Todd Woods, ’95, I am currently living in Yankton and work for the Yankton Police Department as a Patrolman. I was married August 10, 1996 in Brookings to Joleen Heuchert. We have two beautiful children, Savannah Ann who was born on Oct. 10, 1997 and Isiah Robert who was born on May 18, 1999. After graduating from SDSU I worked as a jailer for the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office. I moved to Springfield in March 1997 where I became a Police Officer for the City of Springfield. I lived in Springfield for about two years where I coached Little League Baseball and was on the volunteer fire department. In 1999 I was hired as a Deputy Sheriff for Yankton County. I was employed with the Sheriff’s Office until July, 2000 when I accepted a position with the Yankton Police Department. I have been working with a number of different programs within the department and am currently a member of Special Response Team, responding to high risk situations.
An All-Alumni Reunion was held on June 29-30, 2001. While attendance was lower than hoped for (more than 70), those present had a good time and many old friendships were renewed.
Attendees took advantage of many activities, including building tours, Wetlab and Farm tours, area tours, campus tours, and table displays, which included past Wildlifer’s Logs, the new campus masterplan, and CSREES Review information.
The two highlights of the event were social gatherings on the evenings of the 29th and 30th. The event on the 29th was a pork loin dinner at the new Brookings Multiplex. The June 30th event was a buffet dinner at the Brookings Inn.
| Spring 2001 | Fall 2001 |
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Benjamin Burris Deborah Ernhart Derek Johnson Eric Lindstrom Rocco Murano Christopher Swanson Justin Wilkens Mark Norton Robert Peterson Mark Rohlfing
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Benjamin Burris Bradley Baker Eric Lindstrom Rocco Murano Christopher Swanson Daniel Storm Mark Norton Zachary Hall Jessica Lee Kevin Monteith Jaret Sievers |
53rd Annual Buffalo Banquet
The 53rd Annual Buffalo Banquet was held on Oct. 26, 2001 at the Brookings Elk Lodge. A good crowd was on hand to hear Rich Madsen speak about “The Legacy – A Reflection on Our Conservation Heritage”. Rich, a graduate of our program, is with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He was also Secretary of the Wildlife Conservation Club in 1967 and its President in 1968.
There were numerous scholarships and awards presented at the banquet. There were as follows:
Jon Porter, Jon Meerbeek, George Scholten, and Eric Lindstrom
Wendy Gronke
Andrew Blau
Benjamin Burris and Jaret Sievers
Shawn May
Douglas Schultz
Christopher Jacques
Nathan Olson
Robert Klaver
Kevin Monteith
Benjamin Burris
Zachary Olson
Aaron Kern and Andrew Wall
Jessica Lee
John Arterburn
Mark Finnegan
Mark Norton
PRINT ME - FILL ME IN - CUT ME OUT - SEND ME
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ALUMNI INFORMATION FORM We want to hear from you! Have you moved, accepted a new position, married, given talks in your community, received an advanced degree, or had an addition to your family? Everyone in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences and your classmates want to know what has been
happening in your life.
Name___________________________________________________________________
Address_________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Telephone (
) _______________________
Year of Graduation from SDSU _______ Send
to:
Wildlife and
Fisheries Sciences
SDSU, Box 2140B
Brookings, SD
57007-1696
terri.symens@sdstate.edu ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________ |
Dr. Chuck Berry, Professor and Leader of the S.D. Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, was recently honored by the South Dakota Wildlife Federation as Conservation Communicator of the Year 2001.
The annual award goes to a person who has made outstanding contributions in the area of communications. Chuck’s newsletter writing and other contributions to effective communications qualified him for the award.
PRINT ME - FILL ME IN - CUT ME OUT - SEND ME
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Yes ALL DONATIONS should be made payable to the Great State Fund and designated for the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Mail to: SDSU Foundation, Box 525, Brookings, SD 57007. |
I wish to contribute to the SDSU Department of Wildlife and Fisheries through the Greater State Fund. Name _______________________ Phone ____________________ Address _______________________________________________ City ___________________ State ______ Zip Code ___________ Present Employment _____________________________________ Amount of Gift Enclosed $ ________________________________ |
In April 2001, the Department underwent a complete program review conducted by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). CSREES is a branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and does, among other things, academic program reviews. Reviews are conducted of all programs at SDSU on a seven-year cycle; our last review was in 1994.
We had an excellent Review Team that consisted of Jim Miller (CSREES), Rich Noble (North Carolina State University), Bob Warren (University of Georgia), Bob White (Montana State University), Doug Hansen (S.D. Game, Fish and Parks), Donna Hess (Head, Rural Sociology at SDSU), and Laurie Stenberg Nichols (Dean, College of Family and Consumer Affairs at SDSU). The review, lasting from April 9 to 12, covered research, teaching, and service programs in the Department.
Aside from the Review Team, many other people participated in and contributed to the review. These included the Department faculty, staff, and students; Dean Fred Cholick; College Associate Deans Kevin Kephart, Chuck McMullen, and Larry Tidemann; Carol Peterson (V.P., Academic Affairs); Ed Hogan (Assistant V.P. of Academic Affairs); Marge Hegge (Academic Evaluation and Assessment); Dave Hilderbrand (Graduate School Dean); and Peggy Gordon Elliott (SDSU President).
The starting point of any CSREES Review is a Status Report prepared by the Department for the Review Team, University, College, and Board of Regents. Our 400-page review document was completed and submitted to all involved entities a month before the actual review. The Status Report includes in-depth information on Department activities in research, teaching, and service completed since the last review and the proposed direction of the Department in the next seven years. The Review Team and others had this document in hand during the review; oral presentations on research, teaching, and service were provided by Department faculty. The Review Team also met with career service personnel, undergraduate students, graduate students, administrative personnel, and other College Department Heads during the process.
Soon after completion of the review, the Review Team provided a written report of their findings. Their report, in this case a 27-page document, described program strengths and weaknesses, and made recommendations for areas of improvement.
The review was successful and the Review Team (and others) had very positive things to say about the effectiveness of our program. In the limited space of the Log it is impossible to provide a listing of all strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations. However, below are a few of their findings.
Faculty
Strengths
- Excellent faculty who are highly motivated and professional.
- Faculty works well together.
- Excellent relationships with outside entities.
- Faculty are at or beyond a work level that can be maintained; there is no
capacity for growth.
- High stress and frustration levels with heavy work loads.
- Provide more assistance to faculty.
- Provide more sabbatical leaves.
- Promote more international involvement.
Strengths
- The faculty and their working relationships.
- Well funded and designed studies.
- Publication record.
- Diversity of research and funding.
- Grantsmanship.
- Campus facilities.
- Faculty integration.
- Computer and statistical support.
- Lack of pond facilities.
- Faculty overloaded with teaching and advising.
- Vehicle support.
- Small faculty.
- Technical support.
- Continue applied emphasis.
- Increase use of post-doctoral students.
- Use popular literature channels more effectively.
- Encourage faculty sabbaticals.
- Explore increased international involvement.
- Provide more competitive salaries.
- Add faculty.
Strengths
- Committed faculty and students.
- An up-to-date curricula that is constantly reviewed.
- Active research involvement that enhances teaching.
- Excellent assessment of students.
- Student assistance in understanding the program.
- Management-oriented curriculum.
- Advising loads are too heavy.
- No computer lab for undergraduates.
- Lack of student body diversity.
- Budgetary support for teaching collections.
- Establish an undergraduate computer lab.
- Add more on international issues.
- Work more closely with tribal colleges.
- Continue to review the curriculum.
Strengths
- Excellent students.
- Faculty dedicated to graduate program; all are involved.
- Student-faculty relations.
- Graduate research funding.
- Office space and computer resources.
- Graduate student professionalism.
- Faculty overloaded.
- Statistical consulting.
- Communication between graduate and undergraduate students.
- Graduate student diversity.
- Provide teaching assistantships.
- Upgrade computers.
- Increase diversity.
Strengths
- Information transfer (publications).
- Professional relationships.
- Workshops provided.
- Alumni services.
- Faculty involvement at various levels.
- Low local visibility of the Department.
- No advisory committee.
- Add an Extension Specialist.
- Provide more urban outreach.
- Develop an advisory board.
- Promote greater internal visibility.
In addition to the brief summary above, the Review Team also assessed facilities and infrastructure, program management, and highlighted some other future directions. What all agreed on was that the Department and its faculty, staff, and students were doing well and that the program was effective in its research, teaching, and service activities.
We are doing well, but can improve. For the next few years we will use the Review findings to direct our program improvement activities.
For many years, our M.S. and, more recently, our Ph.D. degree candidates had options (M.S.) or areas (Ph.D.) listed. For the M.S., it was a Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences degree with either a Wildlife Option or a Fisheries Option. For the Biological Sciences Ph.D. program, we had a Fisheries Science Area and a Wildlife Science Area. In an effort to standardize names, the Board of Regents required some changes. We no longer have options or areas, we now have a Wildlife Specialization or a Fisheries Specialization for our M.S. degree and Fisheries Science Specialization or Wildlife Science Specialization for our Biological Science Ph.D. degree.
An updated Department History document (59 pages) was published this year. It contains Department activities through 2000. Sections include a chronological listing of significant Department events, faculty and staff listings, courses taught by the Department, undergraduate curricula at five-year intervals (starting in 1940), course descriptions at five-year intervals (starting in 1940), enrollment data, Wildlife Conservation Club Officers, Buffalo Banquet speakers, and scholarship and award recipients.
The new history document was provided to all alumni who attended last summer’s reunion and will be provided to all alumni who contribute to the Department during the coming year. If you haven’t contributed directly to the Department during the Annual Phonathon or by some other method, you can obtain a copy by using the donation form in this Log.
While not all the paperwork is complete, SDSU and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences will soon become members of another Cooperative Research Unit. The new unit is the Great Plains Cooperative Ecosystem Study Unit (GPCESU).
The host University for the GPCESU is the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. SDSU will become a cooperating university along with the University of Oklahoma, Texas A&M University, and the University of North Dakota.
There are already a number of Cooperative Ecosystem Study Units and more are expected to be added. The federal government is establishing these units to provide research, technical assistance, and education to federal land management, environmental, and research agencies and their potential partners.
The units are loosely patterned after the long-standing and successful Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units program. The new units are not expected to be competitive with the older more established unit program. The new program represents another aspect of university and federal agency cooperation. More information will appear in next year’s Log.
Donations: December 2000 – October 2001
Monetary donations to the Department can be contributed directly to the Department or during the College Phonathon. During the Phonathon donations do not go to the Department unless the donor specifies that it should; if the Department is not specified, the donation goes to a general College fund.
Donations - Prints
Marcy Anderson
Jason Boulanger
Robert Eng
Sam Mattise
Punch Podoll
Charles Scalet
S.D. Wildlife Federation
Steven Spawn
Steve Vanderbeek
Gerald Wickstrom
Donations – Money
James Anderson
Neil and Susan Anderson
Eric Bjorklund
Paul and Susan Bultsma
Carrol and Janice Calkins
Carl Dauman
Brian Dirks and Nancy Dietz
Kurt and Lucia Forman
Thomas and Mary Gengerke
Ronald Glover
Richard Hansen
James and Marjorie Hubert
Warren Jackson
Ancel Johnson
Kim Johnson (In Memory of Robert R. Johnson)
Larry and Jo Kallemeyn
Michael Kjellsen
Jerry Kobriger
David Kraft
Jarren and Tara Kuipers
Timothy Kurtz
Stanley Kohn
Kerry Lucke
Thomas Mc Comish
Harry Pawelczyk
Harvey Pietz
Erling Podoll
John and Patsy Popowski
Morris and Marcene Radack
Charles Schlueter
John Sexton
Kristine Shull
David Simon
Brian and Mary Smith
Stephen Smith
Gerald and Constance Spawn
Victor and Kathleen Starostka
Robert Streeter
Keith Steffenson
Daryl Tasler
William Thorn
Ann and Dale Tribby
Zeno and Roxanne Wicks
Gerald Wickstrom
James and Lynn Wolters
Anyone who has visited our Home Page in recent months noticed a big change – it was completely redone earlier this year.
Keeping a Home Page up-to-date is a large task that the University does not support with funding, thus it turns into a Department task.
See the new Home Page (http://wfs.sdstate.edu). It contains a lot of information about our program and what we are doing. Many of the stories in this year’s Log will be put on the Home Page. It’s possible that sometime in the future this will be where the Log is published.
Jodi Whittier, wife of one of our graduate students, did an excellent job of redoing the Home Page, and we appreciate her help. Visit the site.
Dr. Jonathan A. Jenks was promoted to Professor last spring. Jon joined the Department as an Assistant Professor in 1991. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1996. He holds a 75% teaching/25% research tenure-track appointment.
Jon received his A.A. (1982) and B.S. (1984) degrees from Unity College in Maine. He received a M.S. from the University of Maine (1986) and his Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University (1991).
Jon’s promotion was based on his excellent record in teaching, advising, research, and service. His teaching responsibilities are varied. He helps team-teach WL 230 (Wildlife and Fisheries Techniques), and he teaches WL 411 (Principles of Wildlife Management), WL417-517 (Large Mammal Ecology and Management), WL713 (Animal Population Dynamics), and WL 715 (Wildlife Research Design) on an every other year basis. His teaching and advising efforts are excellent.
Research and Service excellence was also instrumental in Jon’s promotion. He has published 46 peer-reviewed journal articles and 51 reports and lay publications. He has obtained approximately $4.4 million in research grants and contracts. He has mentored 18 graduate students and currently has 11 more in various program stages. He and his students have made over 190 research presentations. He is also very active in professional organizations.
It was not surprising that Jon was promoted. His record spoke for itself. He was very deserving of promotion.
Kenneth Michael
Anderson
Eugene E. Best
Bernard Brich
Joni Ellen
Brunkow
James Allen
Buchweitz
Daniel Carl
Carlson
Kenneth Calvin
Clodfelter
Durand Richard Cook
John D.
Curry
Ronald Stuart
Davis
Vernon Dale
Delzer
Xiang Ding
Frederick Joseph
Dufault
Thomas Peter
Felix
Donald Owen Floden
Richard L.
Fristik
Jose Bernardo
Garza
Ivan John
Graumann
Martin William Gray
Joseph Lyn Gross
Anthony J.
Grossman
Robert D.
Hagen
Joseph E. Hall
Richard P.
Halvorson
Gerald Eugene
Herting
David A.
Hesnard
William Henry
Higgins
Norman R. Hines
David I. Hoff
Dale A.
Hogen
Anthony Edward
Hunhoff
Ernest W.
Jahnke
Robert Dean
James
Joan M. Jirak
Hilding I. Johansson
Dean R. Johnson
Judith A.
Johnson
Jeffrey Allen Kapaun
Jonathan M.
Kemp
Donald F.
Klebert
Robert William Kohrt
Joseph J. Kraayenbrink
John Barry
Kraft
Jeremiah Joseph
Kranz
Chris Alan Lemke
Gordon B. Lofquist
Henry M. Luschen
Philip J.
Martens
Richard W. Mc Coy
Colin F. Mc Donald
Robert J. McDonald
Linda Shirl Meidl
David R. Meyer
Linda Jean
Meyers
Jason James
Moritz
Seteng Motalaote
James Michael Murphy
Craig Alan Noteboom
Fred W.
Olsen
Kenneth K. Ortman
Olapade R. Oyegunwa
Kelly M. Petterson
Lisa Rathbun
Michael V.
Rossi
Steven Kenneth Rust
Bruce R.
Schmidt
Calvin William
Schoon
Norman O.
Scobey
David Jerome
Shelbourn
Michael Frederick
Sorensen
Kent Michael
Sorenson
Robert A.
Spicer
John Frederick
Stilley
Carol Ann Summers
James Dean Swanson
Larry Allen Thompson
Ivan Roy
Tolley
Richard Roy Tuma
Bruce Wade Warner
Larry Dean
Whirledge
Jerry Charles
Wickstrom
Donald Eugene
Wieland
Kim Laird
Wilson
Richard Arlan
Wilson
Rodney A. Zenk
Dr. Dave Willis has turned an initial contact with the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Shepherdstown, WV) into a longer term working relationship. NCTC personnel first contacted Dave in 1998 to provide a course on “Warmwater Fisheries Sampling, Assessment, and Management” for the newly created Warmwater Fisheries Division of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. That course evolved into a more general course on “Fisheries Management” that was taught in Minneapolis in 1999 and Shepherdstown, WV in 2000. Dave will again teach the course in Shepherdstown during January of 2002, and there is talk of the course being offered in Albuquerque, NM during March.
Dave indicates that the greatest challenge in teaching these courses is the wide diversity in students who attend. Attendees have ranged from administrators with business backgrounds, to technicians with a bachelors-level education, to experienced biologists with a masters degree and 15 to 20 years of experience!
We hope that Dave’s instruction of these courses will continue to enhance the reputation of SDSU, our Department, and our former, current, and future students. After all, our alumni have put SDSU and our Department on the map, and we must continue to work to enhance that reputation.
The National Gap Analysis Program (GAP) held its 2001 Annual Meeting at the Brookings Area Multiplex on June 17-21, 2001. Dr. Jon Jenks was instrumental in bringing the meeting to Brookings. The meeting was co-hosted by the South Dakota Gap Analysis Project (SD-GAP), which operates within the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences and South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at South Dakota State University and the Earth Resources Observation Station (EROS) Data Center in Sioux Falls. The meeting included 135 participants from GAP projects nationwide as well as international projects currently underway or being considered in Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Norway. The meeting began with a field trip to Crystal Springs, a restored native prairie northeast of Clear Lake, South Dakota that is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy. Paper sessions during the meeting covered topics such as methods of land cover mapping, availability of LandSat 7 Satellite Imagery, and methods of modeling vertebrate distributions. A special afternoon session was held at the EROS Data Center.
The GAP Analysis Program is focused on identifying current biological diversity in our environment. Objectives are accomplished by classifying land cover in each state using satellite imagery, creating maps of animal distributions, and identifying land stewardship status. Each animal and land cover type is assessed as to its current protection based on land stewardship status. Results from GAP Analyses help to set conservation priorities that will ensure long-term maintenance of biotic integrity. The GAP Analysis Program was initiated in 1993 and is funded by the United States Geological Survey. Since its inception, eight states have completed GAP analyses. South Dakota GAP began in 1997 and will be completed by late 2001. For more information on the South Dakota GAP Analysis Project, go to: http://wfs.sdstate.edu/sdgap/sdgap.htm.
The Annual GAP Analysis Meeting is held for those actively working on GAP projects, as well as sponsors, cooperators, or anyone using Geographical Information Systems for landscape analyses. Current and potential users of GAP data, such as state and federal agencies, developers, planners, and conservation groups involved in management of natural resources, attend.
As with most years many activities and events took place. There is no need to recant items such as the CSREES Review, the All-Alumni Reunion, and others – they appear elsewhere in the Log.
Overall enrollment in the Department has increased again. This year we have 178 undergraduate majors and 41 graduate students (33 M.S., 8 Ph.D.). Our graduate numbers are somewhat lower than last year (50), primarily because last year we had a larger than normal number of students take an extra semester to complete their degrees. Undergraduate majors last year numbered 154, so we had a 15% increase in 2001. University enrollment also increased in 2001.
Undergraduate numbers have always fluctuated in patterns with increases and decreases tending to occur in series. This year was the second year in a row with increased numbers, so it may be the start of a trend for a few years. Enrollment trends are always difficult to predict.
We are in a time when positions for our graduating students, both undergraduate and graduate, are excellent. Our graduate students have always been placed at an approximately 100% rate. The last few years have been as good as I can remember for undergraduate students. Permanent jobs seem to be plentiful, so more undergraduate students obtain a permanent position upon graduation, rather than having to take temporary positions as in previous years.
Our alumni are partly responsible for the success of our graduates. Thanks to all of you who post positions with us for your agency or entity. Students and faculty really appreciate the job information provided by alumni.
The Department has always prided itself on the effort made in addressing student communication skills. While not all students understand the need or fully partake of opportunities available in this area, the faculty continues to place increased emphasis on these skills. The University is anticipating listing selected courses as “Communication Skills Intensive”. The University developed criteria to define activities needed for a course to qualify for such a designation, and the Departments needed to provide a good deal of paperwork to describe how courses in their program fit into the designation. To make a long story short, all eight of our Junior-Senior (300-400 level) courses seemed to fit the described requirements without our having to make any course modifications. They have all been submitted, and we will hear sometime later this year about whether they have been accepted. It appears that we are already doing one of the things that the University wants to stress. If you are interested in what we do on communication skills, view the “skills matrices” section in our Home Page.
Last year I reported that three Department courses had been included in the SDSU core; again with much paperwork involved. This is a core of courses from which students can select in order to meet various requirements designated by the University. One course (WL 430, Human Dimensions in Wildlife and Fisheries) is included in the Social Science Core (Goal 2). We haven’t seen much effect on student numbers from that inclusion, but our majors benefit greatly by having the course in the core. WL 110, Environmental Conservation and WL 220, Introduction to Wildlife and Fisheries are each in two cores. These cores are Natural Science (Goal 4) and Land Stewardship (Goal 5). Enrollment in these latter two courses, especially WL 110, has been affected by being included in these cores. WL 110 had averaged approximately 60 students per semester for the last 20 years; recent enrollments (after addition