Week-old bison (Bison bison) stay close to the herd at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. In 2023, two NARA students participated in research projects at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. 
Credit: U.S. Forest Service

The Native American Research Assistantship Program offers annual summer research assistantships for Native undergraduate or graduate students. Established in 2014, the professional development program facilitates opportunities for Native students to be mentored by USDA Forest Service research and development scientists and promotes student advancement and training for careers in natural resource and conservation-related fields.

Together, TWS and USFS are committed to enhancing the diversity of ethnic backgrounds within the community of natural resource professionals. We are particularly keen to integrate and recruit Native scholars and early career scientists since we recognize that Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) and expertise held by Tribes and Native communities can be braided with western science and other scientific approaches to sustain and restore ecosystems.

Current Projects

Project proposals are being reviewed for the 2024 program year. Student applications for upcoming projects will be available in early December.

Only a limited number of projects will be funded and are dependent on a suitable student/mentor match.

What Students Can Expect

Paid assistantships are available for Native students interested in wildlife and forest resource research and management. Students will engage with representatives from TWS while learning from and working with an interdisciplinary team of researchers at USFS.

Students will participate in laboratory or field data collection, data entry, and analysis as it relates to wildlife ecology and management. During the research assistantship, students will improve their oral and written communication skills. Students will be provided the opportunity to assist in publishing manuscript(s) in peer-reviewed journals, popular press, and/or present findings at scientific meetings along with project scientists (dependent on travel funding).

How to Apply

All application materials are due annually by mid to late January. Exact dates will be published with application instructions each year.

To apply, students will need to prepare the following materials:

  • A cover letter indicating to which research project you are applying
  • Resume/CV
  • Official or unofficial academic transcripts
  • Verification of Native ethnicity (e.g., tribal member enrollment)
  • Two letters of recommendation

Applicants must be a member of a Native American or Alaska Native tribe, First Nations or a Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program from an accredited academic institution. Pursuit of a bachelor’s or master’s degree in wildlife biology, ecology, forestry or other closely related natural resource discipline is preferred. Students with related associate’s degrees from tribal colleges and universities or other community colleges are eligible to apply. Recent graduates will also be considered.

The ideal candidate will have strong verbal and written communication skills with demonstrated capabilities in science writing, ability to work both independently and as a productive member of a research team, and an ability to work under adverse field conditions (possible extreme weather, difficult terrain, venomous snakes and biting/stinging insects). Submission of a writing sample is optional.

Students with a GPA above 3.0 are preferred, and students with a minimum 2.5 GPA will be considered.

Current membership with The Wildlife Society is not required.

Past Projects

2023

Bat Diversity Along the Klamath River Before and During Dam Removal (USFS)

Ryan Matilton, member of the Hoopa Valley Tribe studying at Cal Poly Humboldt, worked with Ted Weller from the U.S. Forest Service. The objectives of this project were to quantify the diversity and activity of bat species along the Klamath River in northern California before and during dam removal in 2023.

Bison Grazing and Grassland Birds: Evaluating Prairie Restoration on Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (USFS)

Tanikwah Lang, member of the Klamath Tribes studying at the Oregon Institute of Technology, and Sabrina Sanchez, studying at Texas State University, worked with PhD student Alejandro Chávez Treviño and Susannah Lerman from the U.S. Forest Service. The objectives of this project were to determine how bison grazing improves the diversity of native vegetation during the restoration of prairie ecosystems and determine how grassland birds respond to bison grazing during prairie restoration.

Identifying the Potential Socio-Economic Effects of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) on Native Americans (USGS)

Katie Easter, member of the Cherokee Nation studying at Northeastern State University, worked with Scott Chiavacci from the U.S. Geological Survey. The objectives of this project were to identify the socio-economic impact categories of CWD on tribal communities and develop a research prospectus to quantify those impacts in collaboration with one or more Tribal communities.

Hyperspectral Identification of Harmful Algal Blooms in the Klamath Basin and Beyond (USGS)

Hannah Jimenez, member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma studying at Columbia University, worked with Natalie Hall from the U.S. Geological Survey. The objectives of this project were to provide reference data needed for ground-to-space validation of satellite algorithms and for identification of potentially toxic Harmful Algal Blooms in U.S. lakes and rivers, as a first step towards development of an early warning system using satellite data to detect toxic cyanobacteria in freshwater systems.

Tribal Data-Network Infrastructure Plan – Transfer of US Geological Technology to Tribal Nations (USGS)

Electa Hare-Red Corn, member of the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma and studying at the University of Arkansas, worked with Andy Waite from the U.S. Geological Survey. The objectives of this project were focused on the operation and maintenance of USGS long-term data networks, including groundwater-monitoring wells , streamgages, tide-elevation gages , and water-quality stations to address management of water supply, flood, water quality, and ecosystem concerns.

2022

A Delicate Balance: Supporting white-tailed deer (waawaashkeshi) habitat and forest sustainability on Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) lands

Sabrina Sanchez, from Texas State University, worked with Serra Hoagland on long-term monitoring of treated and untreated Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) territories on tribal lands in New Mexico. This project built upon existing occupancy and reproduction datasets from Mescalero Apache tribal lands with the goal of reducing fire risk and threats to Mexican spotted owl habitats.

Long-term monitoring of treated and untreated Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) territories on tribal lands

Antoinette Shirley, from Michigan State University, worked with Stephen Handler, Rachel Tarpey, Erin Johnston and Pam Nankervis in Michigan on a collaborative project on white-tailed deer—or waawaashkeshi—habitat and forest sustainability on Keweenaw Bay Indian Community lands. This project gathered information about the role and location of deer to help the tribe make decisions about the tradeoffs between forest health and wildlife management.

2021

Long term monitoring of treated and untreated Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) territories on tribal lands

Callie Kammers, of Lake Superior State University, worked with Serra Hoagland, CWB, in New Mexico on long-term monitoring of treated and untreated Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis lucida) territories on tribal lands. This project built upon existing long-term occupancy and reproduction datasets in treated and untreated Mexican spotted owl breeding territories on Mescalero Apache Tribal Lands with the overarching goal of reducing fire risk and threats to Mexican spotted owl habitat on tribal lands.

Bison grazing and grassland birds: Evaluating prairie restoration on Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

Jerret Carpenter, of Oklahoma State University, worked with Susannah Lerman at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie. The objectives of this project were to determine how bison (Bison bison) grazing improves the diversity of native vegetation during the restoration of prairie ecosystems, and how grassland birds respond to bison grazing during prairie restoration. Results were utilized to design and implement a grazing management program for prairie restoration and management that promotes desired conditions for grassland bird habitat.

Tracking Native Species Distributions with Environmental DNA

Zachary Arquette, of Haskell Indian Nations University, worked with Kellie Carim at the USFS National Genomics Center for Wildlife and Fish Conservation on a collaborative project using environmental DNA to understand distributions of Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) in the Columbia River basin. This species once sustained tribes of the lower Columbia River including the Yakama, Umatilla and Nez Perce people. Results from this work were used by tribal biologists to protect and restore Pacific lamprey throughout their historic range.

2020

Bat surveys and greater sage-grouse vegetation studies in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland of South Dakota

Elizabeth Hotchkiss was a graduating senior at California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo. Over the summer she was mentored by Brian Dickerson, a researcher at the Rocky Mountain Research Station. Together they worked on bat surveys and greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) vegetation studies in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland of South Dakota.

The U.S. Forest Service is a Premier Partner of TWS.

Contact

For more information or questions, please contact:

Tricia Fry
Education and Awards Coordinator