Hunters help safeguard Arizona's deer and elk from chronic wasting disease

As a neurological disorder known as chronic wasting disease spreads among wildlife herds like deer and elk in Montana, the state is trying to increase testing of the fatal disease and understand if it can be transmitted to humans. By learning from the failures in Wyoming, a state agency offered free statewide testing to hunters resulting in new positives in areas that they might have missed, which will help them track how the disease spreads across the landscape.

As the Mexican wolf population neared extinction, the Arizona Game & Fish Department and the Endangered Wolf Center have been placing pups born in captivity in wild dens. This effort, known as cross-fostering, has been successful in not only increasing the number of wolves in the Southwest, but also improving the survival skills of cross-fostered wolves. While the Mexican wolf population hasn’t completely rebounded, more people are understanding the importance that the species has on the ecosystem.

The dengue virus is spread by mosquito and infects 400 million people every year with no vaccine or successful treatment. Scientists have started to inject mosquitoes with a bacteria they have found to stop the virus to prevent and control the spread of dengue. Trials have shown success in Australia, so the project is in the process of scaling to other countries that have dengue more widespread, and new experiments will begin on whether it can effectively stop the spread of the Zika virus.

A biologist studies bear dens in the forests of British Columbia, Canada, to create artificial alternatives as forestry practices make suitable dens rarer.

Outdoor enthusiasts make effective citizen scientists. In Montana, Adventure Scientists pairs outdoor adventure-seekers with scientists looking to collect data in remote locations. The volunteers gather data that inform US Forest Service and other conservation studies. The project has led to research collection by volunteers worldwide.

Scientists are working with houndsmen and houndswomen to track mountain lions in Montana to understand their behavior and to better estimate their population. By forming this partnership and using GPS collars, the team is learning about these animals’ habitat use and where they rest, hunt, and feed. Houndsmen and houndswomen have been crucial in the success of cougar conservation in the state.

Fish conservation, in the rural streams of the Western United States, requires a remarkable amount of ongoing human intervention. Take the greenback cutthroat trout, Colorado's state fish. The greenback is bred in labs as part of a delicate effort to restore it to its native habitat. But in the wake of a 30 year conservation misstep, due to mistaken identity, scientists are undecided on the best path forward.

Concerned with colony collapse syndrome in honey bees worldwide, scientists, farmers and tech companies teamed up in Australia to create a micro-sensor that collects data on the bee's environment.

Bsal is a fungal pathogen that causes a deadly disease in salamanders. Experts from Mexico, Canada, and the United States came together to create the volunteer-based North American Bsal Task Force to prevent it from spreading further and prepare a plan of action for when the pathogen reaches the continent.

Volunteers at the Owl Moon Raptor Center in Maryland rehabilitate injured birds by treating their injuries and exercising them. Healed birds are released back into the wild.