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Craighead
Environmental
Research Institute (CERI)
Since
1964, the Craighead Environmental Research Institute has pioneered the
fields of conservation and wildlife research. Dr. Frank C. Craighead
founded CERI as the Outdoor Recreation Institute; its name was changed
to its current form in 1980. Over the past four decades CERI 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.
Founder Frank
Craighead collaring a grizzly bear
For
the past 15 years CERI 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.
CERI
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, CERI 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 CERI scientists have collaborated
on:
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The
Madison Valley Conservation Assessment with The Wildlife Conservation
Society, and the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group: terrestrial mammal
habitat suitability models and connectivity assessment.
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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.
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The
Bozeman Pass Wildlife Channelization Intelligent Transportation Systems
Project with the Montana Department of Transportation, the U.S.
Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, and
the Western Transportation Institute; study design, data collection and
analyses, and habitat modeling.
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The
MacDonald Pass Wildlife
Connectivity Project with American Wildlands; core habitat and
connectivity habitat modeling.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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The
Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research Program Data Management
with Kansas State University; data management design and archival.
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The
Yellowstone to Yukon Data
Library with Montana State University Department of Ecology; data
management design and archival.
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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.
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