Kyran Kunkel
Kyran Kunkel serves as affiliate senior conservation scientist for TESF. Kyran
served as a senior biologist for the Turner Endangered Species Fund from May
1999 through December 2002. Kyran also maintains positions as Affiliate
Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology and Wildlife at the University
of Alaska, Fairbanks
(Related Link), University
of Montana, and Montana State University where he co-advises several graduate
students. Kyran owns and operates a biological consulting firm and is
initiating a non-profit corporation focusing on carnivore conservation. Kyran
served as the regional wildlife biologist for the Alaska Region of the National
Park Service from 1997-1999. Kyran received his Ph.D. in wildlife biology from
the University of Montana in 1997 and his M.Sc. in wildlife conservation from
the University of Minnesota in 1991. Kyran serves as principle investigator for
the TESF desert sheep/cougar project on the Armendaris Ranch, the swift fox
restoration project on the Bad River Ranches, and for the wolf/mule deer/coyote
study in southwest Montana. He advises on wolf monitoring and management in the
northern and southern Rockies. Kyran is co-principle investigator on bear,
wolverine, and moose studies in Katmai, Kenai Fjords, and Western Arctic
Parklands, Alaska. His professional interests include predation and carnivore
ecology, and research, management, and conservation of biological reserves.
Appointments for Kyran Kunkel
Scientific Advisory Council for Prairie Foundation
Steering Committee for Northern Prairie Conservation Network
Swift Fox Conservation Team
Graduate Student Research Committees
2001-03 - M.S. Thesis, University of Montana - Management of livestock
depredation by wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains
2001-03 - Co PI; M.S. Thesis, University of Montana - Desert bighorn sheep lamb
mortality in the Fra Cristobal Mountains, New Mexico
2000-04 - PhD Dissertation, Stockholm University - Wolverine social
organization, genetic structure and diet in Noatak National Preserve, Alaska
1999-02 - M.S. Thesis, University of Arizona - Ecology of a reintroduced desert
sheep population in the Fra Cristobal Mountains, New Mexico
1998-02 - Co PI; M.S. Thesis, University of Alaska Fairbanks - Assessing and
managing the impact of humans along the southern Alaska coastline: bears as
indicators.
1998-00 - M.S. Thesis, University of Montana - Use of glucocorticoid metabolite
levels in brown bears in Katmai National Park, Alaska to assess stress related
to contact with humans.
1998-02 - M.S. Thesis, University of Minnesota - Moose calf mortality in the
Western Arctic Parklands.
Larry Temple
Larry Temple has served as a biologist for the Turner Endangered Species Fund
since August 1997. He is responsible for assessing the feasibility of restoring
gray wolves to the southern Rocky Mountains. Prior to working with the Fund,
Larry spent a career with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish as a
biologist and conservation officer. Larry obtained his B.Sc. in Wildlife
Science from New Mexico State University in 1973. His professional interest
include all facets of wildlife management and restoration.
Zack Parsons
Zack Parsons has served as a biological technician for the Turner Endangered
Species Fund since February 1999. Zack is primarily responsible for daily
fieldwork related to the Fund's effort to restore desert bighorn sheep to the
Fra Cristobal Mountains of the Armendaris Ranch, New Mexico. Zack's field
experience includes trapping wolves in Minnesota, surveying for endangered deer
in Chile, and surveying for birds in New Mexico. Zack received his B.Sc. in
Ecology and Conservation Biology from the University of New Mexico in December
1997. His professional interests include endangered species conservation, large
scale reserve design, and the role of large carnivores as keystone and umbrella
species.
Tracey Mader
Tracey Mader has served as a biologist with the Turner Endangered Species Fund
since April 2000. She is currently working on efforts to restore aplomado
falcons and California condors to New Mexico. Tracey’s prior field experience
includes avian research in California, Montana, New Mexico, Central America,
and Antarctica. Between May 1998 and March 2000, she served as staff biologist
for the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, overseeing the monitoring portion of the
San Clemente Loggerhead Shrike Recovery Program. Tracey received a B.Sc in
Biolgoy in 1992 from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a M.Sc in
Biology from Montana State University – Bozeman in 1998. Her professional
interests include the use of avian abundance, diversity, and distribution as
indicators of environmental health and ecological functions. She is
particularly interested in the conservation and enhancement of wild avian
populations and habitats in the west.
Alice Whitelaw
Alice Whitelaw joined the Turner Endangered Species Fund as a veterinary
technologist in May 2000. Alice has amassed a wealth of knowledge and possesses
the skills necessary for directing disease investigations, observing animal
behaviors and performing immobilizations on wildlife species. She is
responsible for assisting TESF biologists and veterinarians while facilitating
animal health protocols and research conduced on Turner properties. From 1999
to 2000 Alice worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife
Forensics Laboratory as the pathology veterinary technician. From 1993 to 1997
Alice was the lead wolf field biologist for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in
Idaho and was involved in the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone
National Park and Central Idaho. She also was involved in peregrine falcon
restoration in the mountains of North Carolina from 1988 to 1990. She received
her B.A. in Biology from Warren Wilson College in 1990 and her A.A.Sc. in
Veterinary Medical Technology from Central Carolina Community College in 1982.
She has participated in wildlife research throughout the U.S., Mexico, Canada
and Russia. Her professional interests include disease aspects of wildlife,
carnivore behavior, particularly canids and endangered species restoration.
Appointments for Alice Whitelaw
Alice Whitelaw is a co-founder and team member of Working Dogs for Conservation
Research, an affiliation of biologists who have combined specialized detection
dog training with conservation work.
