Wildlife Ecology Institute

08/28/2026

NEW PUBLICATION on
Genetic Diversity of Gray Foxes:

Koller, A. L., J. E. Maldonado, W. R. Clark, J. Beringer, G. Albers, T. L. Hiller, and D. M. Reding. 2026. Characterizing genetic diversity and population structure of gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in the eastern United States using 2bRAD sequencing data. Journal of Heredity:esag060.

Click below for the open-access article.

08/14/2026

There is a lot going on with bobcat management (and other aspects of wildlife management) in Kentucky that most folks might not have heard about. Here's one of several articles in the Kentucky Lantern, which included our responses to some of the questions from the Lantern during a recent interview.

Chet Hayes thinks Kentucky has a decent bobcat population but it's hard to know exactly how many there are.

07/21/2026

The monograph from our Indiana Gray Fox Project is now published and open access! Look for more publications in the near future for this project, as well as our other recently completed projects.

Hiller, T. L., J. A. Nawrocki, B. M. Bernhardt, L. K. Jeakle, D. M. Reding, and G. Albers. 2026. Ecology of declining populations of gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) in Indiana, USA. Wildlife Monographs e70019.

We estimated seasonal space use, cover selection, and resource selection; evaluated gene flow and potential genetic barriers; and assessed cause-specific survival rates and reproduction of radiomarke...

07/16/2026

Grizzly Bear Conservation Advances: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service In Step with Recovery Progress

New federal rule acknowledges historic conservation win, addresses current conservation needs.The Boone and Crockett Club celebrates today’s proposed rule for grizzly bear conservation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is an innovative fix for the current stalemate in which bears have reco...

07/08/2026

BOOK CHAPTER PUBLISHED AND AVAILABLE

Wild Furbearer Management and Conservation in North America
Edited by Tim Hiller, Roger Applegate, Bob Bluett, Nicki Frey, Eric Gese, and John Organ

NOTE: Although this project is being indefinitely paused, we continue to publish individual chapters as funding becomes available.

Now published online and available for download at no cost:
Chapter 51: Greater Grison
Authored by Álvaro José Villafañe-Trujillo, Andrea Sarahí Fernández-Montejo, and Osvaldo Eric Ramírez-Bravo

Thanks Authors!

To learn more about the book, click here:
https://www.wildlifeecology.org/fur_book.html

To download this chapter, click here:
https://www.wildlifeecology.org/fur_book_51greatergrison.html

07/02/2026

New Publication about Declining Muskrat Populations - more publications to come!

Hiller, T. L., A. Sylvia, J. T. Boulerice, A. A. Ahlers, D. R. Etter, and E. M. Dunton. 2026. Using harvest data to assess factors influencing regional population declines of muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus). Wildlife Letters 2026:1–10. doi:10.1002/wll2.70044

Reported annual per-capita harvest of muskrats (PCHM) decreased as wetland complexity (total number of wetland patches) decreased in 13 state and federal wetland areas in the Midwest, USA. Our result...

06/01/2026

Is Trapping consistent with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation? Spolier: Yes, and here's why, from colleague John Organ.

By John Organ — Recently, there has been a resurgence of legislative action that would ban or greatly restrict fur trapping in certain jurisdictions in the United States. The protagonists of these initiatives claim that trapping is inconsistent with the North American Model of Wildlife Conservatio...

05/23/2026

05/09/2026

BOOK CHAPTER PUBLISHED AND AVAILABLE

Wild Furbearer Management and Conservation in North America
Edited by Tim Hiller, Roger Applegate, Bob Bluett, Nicki Frey, Eric Gese, and John Organ

NOTE: Although this project is being indefinitely paused, we continue to publish individual chapters as funding becomes available.

Now published online and available for download at no cost:
Chapter 14: S*x Identification and Age Estimation of Furbearers
Authored by Paula White, Carolyn Nistler, and Tim Hiller
Thanks Authors!

To learn more about the book, click here:
https://www.wildlifeecology.org/fur_book.html

To download this chapter, click here:
https://www.wildlifeecology.org/fur_book_14fursexage.html

05/09/2026

Check us out on the recent Northwest Nature Matters Podcast with long-time friend, college, and podcast host, Monty Gregg.

A casual conversation about what we do, along with a few stories, and how to avoid the mistakes we have made along the way!

Monty and Jess speak with Dr. Tim Hiller, the Executive Director and Founder of the Wildlife Ecology Institute in Helena, Montana.