- History of the Craighead Institute
Founder Frank Craighead collaring a grizzly bear.
Since its founding by renowned grizzly bear researcher Dr. Frank C. Craighead in 1964, the Craighead Institute has pioneered the fields of conservation and wildlife research. Over the past four decades the Institute has conducted ecological research on grizzly bears in Yellowstone Park, genetic research on grizzly bears in Alaska, conventional and satellite radio-telemetry of wildlife, and the use of remote sensing to map vegetation and wildlife habitat.
For the past 15 years, the Craighead Institute has also been active in guiding conservation policy and management and in supporting grassroots conservation campaigns with scientific foundations. We work by developing local site-specific conservation plans in partnership with local stakeholders. These plans are designed to function within the larger ecosystems to maintain habitat and connectivity throughout multiple ecosystems and wildlife meta-populations. Craighead Institute has also focused on developing wildlife habitat suitability models, habitat connectivity models, and conservation area designs using GIS and has been involved in several large-scale conservation area designs for regions in the United States, Canada, Tibet, and Bhutan.
In November 2007, Craighead Institute inaugurated the Craighead Center for Landscape Conservation, a conservation research and education program centered in Bozeman, Montana. The Center’s goal is to establish standardized research frameworks, methods, and tools for conservation planning practitioners.
During the last decade Craighead Institute scientists have collaborated on:
For the past 15 years, the Craighead Institute has also been active in guiding conservation policy and management and in supporting grassroots conservation campaigns with scientific foundations. We work by developing local site-specific conservation plans in partnership with local stakeholders. These plans are designed to function within the larger ecosystems to maintain habitat and connectivity throughout multiple ecosystems and wildlife meta-populations. Craighead Institute has also focused on developing wildlife habitat suitability models, habitat connectivity models, and conservation area designs using GIS and has been involved in several large-scale conservation area designs for regions in the United States, Canada, Tibet, and Bhutan.
In November 2007, Craighead Institute inaugurated the Craighead Center for Landscape Conservation, a conservation research and education program centered in Bozeman, Montana. The Center’s goal is to establish standardized research frameworks, methods, and tools for conservation planning practitioners.
During the last decade Craighead Institute scientists have collaborated on:
- The Madison Valley Conservation Assessment with The Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group: terrestrial mammal habitat suitability models and connectivity assessment.
- The Bozeman Pass Wildlife Linkage and Highway Safety Study with the Montana Department of Transportation, and American Wildlands: study design, data collection and analyses, and habitat modeling.
- The Interior Cedar-Hemlock Forest Conservation Area Design (Southern BC) with the Valhalla Wilderness Society, Applied Conservation GIS, and the Ministry of the Environment: study design, data collection and analyses, habitat modeling, and implementation.
- The Interior Cedar-Hemlock Forest Conservation Area Design (Northern Idaho, Northwestern Montana, and Eastern Washington) with Applied Conservation GIS, Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. Forest Service, and AGW Consulting: study design, data collection and analyses, habitat modeling, and implementation. The Coastal Forests and Mountains Ecoregional Plan (Southeast Alaska) with The Nature Conservancy: wide-ranging mammal study team leader.
- The Muskwa-Kechika Management Area Conservation Area Design (Northern British Columbia) with Round River Conservation Studies, BC Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management, and the Muskwa-Kechika Management Board: study design and development of habitat suitability models.
- The Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research Program Data Management with Kansas State University; data management design and archival.
- The Yellowstone to Yukon Data Library with Montana State University Department of Ecology; data management design and archival.
- The Four Great Rivers Conservation Area Design project (Eastern Tibet) with the David Suzuki Foundation, Future Generations, and the Tibetan Office of Science and Technology; study design, data collection and analyses, GIS and habitat modeling instruction.
