Tarleton State University

Awards Issued Prior to January 20, 2025, Were Funded Under Previous Administrations and May Not Reflect the Priorities and Policies of the Current Administration. Human-wildlife Conflict (HWC) Is a Topic of Tremendous Concern for People All Over the World. in North America, Conflicts Between Agricultural Producers and Carnivores Such as Grey Wolves, Bears, and Coyotes Pose Significant Challenges to Both Producers as Well as State and Federal Agencies. African Communities Are Frequently on the Forefront of HWC Issues, Given a Rapidly Expanding Human Population and Increasing Agricultural Development in Rural Areas. These Areas of Conflict Often Are the Site of Some of the Largest Remaining Wild Populations of Many Species. in Botswana, Conflict Typically Comes in the Form of Predators, Like Lions, Cheetahs, or Wild Dogs, Killing Livestock. Much of the Research and Practice on HWC Is Focused on Alleviating Conflict and Finding Ways to Compensate People Who Have Experienced Negative Interactions With Wildlife. in More Recent Years, the Concern Has Shifted to Finding Ways for People and Wild Animals to Coexist, to Share Landscapes and Communities, Even as They Are Competing for Space, Water, and Food. This Holistic Approach Acknowledges the Social and Human Dimensions of HWC. This Approach Also Recognizes That Conflicts Over Land, Politics, Values, Competing Livelihoods, and Other Social Tensions, or Human-human Conflicts, Are at the Root of Hwc.a Significant Body of Evidence Attests to the Importance of Experiential Learning in Augmenting Traditional Classroom-based Curriculum. Immersive Experiences Facilitate Learning by Providing Opportunities for Students to Process and Transform Relevant Experiences Into Knowledge. Such Hands-on Experiences Benefit Natural Resources Students by Fostering the Acquisition of Practical Knowledge and Increasing Student Perceptions of the Applicability of Both Field-based and Classroom Information to Real World Situations. These Experiences Also Benefit Students by Instilling Social Responsibility, Promoting Inclusion of Historically Underrepresented Groups, and Cementing Their Identityas Ecologists. in Assessing the Outlook for the Fisheries and Wildlife Profession in the Coming Decades, Edge (2016) Argued That University Natural Resources Curricula Should Include a Variety of Experiential-learning Opportunities - Including Internships, Undergraduate Research, and International Experiences - in Order to Provide Graduates the Appropriate Skills to Successful Address Natural Resource Challenges. International Experiences Are Valuable Tools for Exposing Natural Resources Students to Alternative Problem-solving Approaches. Because Individual Attitudes Toward Nature Are Determined Largely by the Cultural Context, Attitudes and Approaches Toward Wildlife Conservation Are Contingent Partially Upon the Culture and History in Which They Arise.we Propose a Large-scale Comprehensive Initiative to Perform an Integrated Project Focused on Both Applied Natural and Social Science Research That Addresses a Real-world Problem in Renewable Natural Resource Conservation, as Well as Education Focused on Experiential Learning in the Form of Internships and Undergraduate Research Experiences. the Specific Objectives of Our Proposal Are to 1) Address Information Deficiencies in the Area of Human-wildlife Conflict by Conducting Research in Botswana Aimed at Identifying Ways for People in the Kalahari to Benefit From Their Close Proximity to Wild Carnivores and to Gain Support for Efforts to Safeguard Their Cattle While Also Tracking, Monitoring, and Stewarding Wild Carnivores; 2) Provide Experiential Learning Opportunities to Student Participants That Involve Reducing Human-wildlife Conflict in Both Botswana and the United States, in the Form of Applied Undergraduate Research Projects in Botswana and Professional Undergraduate and Graduate Internships in the United States; and 3) Increase the Capacity of Tarleton State University to Conduct Education and Research Activities Related to Agriculture and Natural Resources by Promoting the Professional Growth and Development of Faculty, Providing Graduate Assistantships, and Building Linkages Between Tsu and Participating Institutions and Organizations.