2-YEAR POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP: RECREATIONAL ECOLOGY IN THE YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON (Y2Y) REGION
The Yellowstone to Yukon vision is to connect and protect habitat from Yellowstone to the Yukon so people and nature can thrive. In addition to providing wildlife habitat and holding important ecological values, outdoor spaces are places where people recreate – identifying how and where people and wildlife co-occur in landscapes is an important part of large landscape conservation. This two-year applied research project will focus on identifying and mapping the places where people recreate, and compiling and modeling the ecological impacts of different types and intensities of use in the Y2Y region. The results will be used to inform and manage access. The University of Northern British Columbia (Dr. Pamela Wright, UNBC) and the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Dr. Aerin Jacob, Y2Y) seek one postdoctoral fellow to work on a two-year funded project. The appointee will lead a team of researchers, conservationists, and managers in the US and Canada to: 1) develop a spatially explicit database of motorized/non-motorized trails used for nature-based recreation in the Y2Y region, acquired via partnerships, remotely sensed data, and digitization; 2) working from primary and grey literature, and potentially with subject matter experts, review recreation ecology impacts on selected wildlife species and ecosystem components of conservation concern; and, 3) develop functional models of disturbance in the Y2Y region (e.g., where structural habitat exists but recreation-related disturbance affects specific species or ecosystem components, and where managing recreation differently could advance conservation priorities). Full posting available at: Web posting: www.y2y.net/RecEcolPostdoc
