Round River Conservation Studies

Home
United States
Salt Lake City, UT
Round River Conservation Studies

We work for the land and with the people who call it home.

Round River Conservation Studies partners with communities to achieve enduring conservation through applied science, education programs, and on-the-ground support.

08/26/2026

We’re thrilled to have presented the findings of a decade of wildlife monitoring efforts in the Okavango Delta, Botswana to our partners today. This data, which covers herbivore monitoring conducted in select community concessions from 2013-2023, represents an important baseline for wildlife trends in the region.

We want to thank Sankoyo Tshwaragano Management Trust, Mababe Zokotsama Community Development Trust, Khwai Development Trust, and Khwai Private Reserve as well as the Okavango Research Institute and Department of Parks and Wildlife for their partnership.

08/17/2026

The Whiting River is a transboundary river that flows from the Coast Range of British Columbia, through Alaska, before reaching the Pacific Ocean. Partially due its remote nature, it lacks the research history of some of its neighboring systems. That gap has made it the focus of new monitoring efforts that seek to better understand wildlife occupancy and movement throughout the watershed.

This past June, Maggie Triska and Will Tyson of Round River Conservation Studies spent a week in Taku River Tlingit (TRT) Territory, working alongside TRT Land Guardians. Together they deployed twelve camera traps across a riparian corridor in the Whiting.

The cameras will quietly document wildlife movement through the study area before the team retrieves them this September. Their findings and analysis will be shared with TRT to support ongoing stewardship efforts in the region.

This project builds on more than 25 years of partnership between Round River and TRT, and is one of several on-the-land programming, community engagement, and collaborative research efforts that have been developed to support continued large landscape stewardship. This work is part of a research initiative in Northern Transboundary Watersheds, and is supported by the Wilburforce Foundation.

07/28/2026

Our programs are not your average study abroad. Round River students live, work, and study in the field, contributing directly to the conservation efforts of our local partners while immersing themselves in the ecosystem they are researching.

There’s still time to apply without the application fee! Complete your application by August 1st and use code SUMMER2026 when you submit.

07/21/2026

The search for Vansemberuu is on! The Mongolia team has been hard at work on the talus slopes of the Darhad Valley seeking out this endangered plant.

Vansemberuu, also called snow lotus, holds medicinal and cultural significance to the communities of the Darhad Valley, but its population is threatened by poaching. Our students are part of efforts to locate and tag adult plants, ensuring their long term monitoring and ongoing conservation.

While Vansemberuu surveys might be some of the most challenging fieldwork of the summer, everyone agrees - it makes up for it in views!

07/13/2026

Application fee: waived ✅

Now the only thing between you and a semester of conservation fieldwork in the mountains of Nepal or the floodplains of Botswana is hitting submit.

Apply before August 1st with code SUMMER2026 to waive the fee. That’s it!

🔗 https://roundriver.org/study-abroad/student-application/

Let’s get into the field 🌎

06/30/2026

Day in the life: wake up in the Darhad Valley, take in a stunning mountain view, go look for pikas. Repeat.

Over a week on the ground and the Mongolia crew is settling in and setting out to research plots to collect pika occupancy data.

Not a bad daily routine if you ask us.

06/22/2026

Meet Sam Herzig, Mongolia ‘25 🇲🇳

As a student in Mongolia, Sam was part of a project monitoring Vansemberuu, a culturally and medicinally significant plant found in the Darhad Valley. After hearing Darhad elders speak about the importance of Vansemberuu and their hope to bring together Traditional Ecological Knowledge and western science to study it, Sam knew she wanted to be part of expanding research efforts on the species.

This summer, Sam, with support from UC Davis’ Summer Undergraduate Research Program, is heading back to the Darhad Valley to undertake a new study of Vansemberuu rooted in conservation biology, metabolomics, and ethnobotany. Working alongside our Mongolia student cohort, Mongolia Program Director, Badmaa Dovchin, and Ulaan Taiga Protected Areas Administration park rangers, she will collect data that will become the basis of analysis of Vansemberuu’s medicinal compounds. Ultimately, the project aims to share this knowledge with the broader Darhad community, especially to engage younger generations about the plant’s cultural and medicinal significance.

We’re thrilled to have an alumni carrying their RR experience forward into further work with us — welcome back, Sam! 🌏

Read Sam’s thoughts on the project and returning to Mongolia: https://roundriver.org/study-abroad/alumni/alumni-spotlight/

06/12/2026

Introducing our new program: Nepal - Annapurna to Chitwan. Now accepting applications for Spring 2027.

Learn more at: https://roundriver.org/study-abroad/nepal/

📸: Paras Singh & Jeff Muntifering

06/09/2026

Our face when you haven’t signed up to attend our virtual info session this Thursday 😮

This is your chance to come learn about the programs, hear about the research you can be involved in, and ask all your questions!

🗓️: June 11
⏰: 4 pm ET (3pm CT / 2pm MT / 1pm PT)
📍: Zoom - sign up here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/VzhohL79Qvi7NCPoB7T4_Q

If you can’t make this particular session, we hope to see you at one of our upcoming dates: July 9, August 6, or September 3.

Thank you to our Sky Island Borderlands Spring 2021 students for this fantastic photo.

06/03/2026

Curious about our field research, academics or the wild places we work? Or maybe you want to hear about our new program location… 👀

Join us on June 11th at 4 pm ET (2pm MT/1pm PT) for an info session designed to introduce you to our programs and show you how you can build field skills and make a difference in conservation work abroad.

In this session, you’ll have a chance to hear more about:
- Our program locations and their research
- What it’s really like to live and work in the field
- The courses you’ll take & credits you’ll earn
- Financial aid opportunities and how to apply

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/VzhohL79Qvi7NCPoB7T4_Q

🗓️ Can’t make this particular session? Join us at one of our other upcoming info session dates: July 9, August 6, or September 3.

📸: Gabe Kayano

Address

925 E 900 S Suite 210
Salt Lake City, UT
84105

Website

http://www.roundriver.org/, https://roundriver.org/study-abroad/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Round River Conservation Studies posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Round River Conservation Studies:

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Salt Lake City?