News

The international Association for Bear Research and Management recently voted WFI director and MSU professor Dr. Jerrold L. Belant as Vice President of the Americas for their upcoming 2026-2029 Council term. Serving alongside hundreds of other conservationists, biologists and academics from over 45 different countries, Dr. Belant will aid in steering the collective towards positive conservation and management of wild bears, emphasizing a focus on polar, brown and grizzly bears in North America, as well as Andean bears in South America. Additionally, Dr. Belant was also recently appointed to the IUCN Bear Specialist Group. 

The newly published scientific paper titled "Sport hunting associated with favourable conservation status of mammals," published by team members Dr. Ken Kellner and Dr. Jacob Hill, has been receiving global recognition since its publication in Nature Sustainability on December 2, 2025. The articles and videos expounding on the research have since been posted to MSU's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation, the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation and a video by Fieldsports Britain. 

Please join us in celebrating our team member, Alejandra Zubiria Perez, as the recipient of the 2025 Boone and Crockett Fellow Outstanding Achievement Award. This prestigious award honors dedicated scholars whose research helps to advance sound advocacy for policies on natural resources. Alejandra will graduate in spring 2026 from Michigan State University with her doctorate in Fisheries and Wildlife. Her research focuses on characterizing gray wolf mortality rates and evaluating its influence on wolf populations in the Great Lakes Region. Her distinguished work will offer science-based information that will aid in better understanding wolf populations and achieving management goals. 
 
Congratulations, Alejandra!