The Craighead Institute keeps their heads down and works their butts off. Their science is solid and renowned, and they absolutely deserve this rating.
My experience with the Craighead Institute has been overwhelmingly positive. Lance and April bring a very high level of expertise to their field, and it is amazing to learn of the projects they have accomplished in the past. The Craighead Institute is filled with professionals who have a passion for science and the natural world. Their contributions to the environmental science field will not be forgotten.
The family name Craighead is the gold standard in Wildlife Research. In it's second generation as a non-profit, Craighead Institute provides solid data with practical applications for everyday concerns.. human wildlife interactions with work on highway crossings, climate change implications with work on Pikas and a variety of work that underpins sensible, sustainable, data-driven planning and growth in the Rocky Mountain West. It's a pleasure and an honor to serve on the Craighead Board.
Practically everyone with an interest in wild places became familiar with the pioneering work of the Craighead brothers, which focused on Yellowstone's grizzlies in the 1960s and '70s. The result was public influence via specials on National Geographic and a change in wildlife management practices. Subsequent research goes far beyond megafauna to ecosystem studies all across North America. With our natural world in peril more than ever from human activities and climate change, we need the expertise this nonprofit has more than ever.
The legacy of the Craighead brothers and second generation Craigheads in combining solid science with a sense of adventure and dedication to wildlife and landscape preservation is what attracted me to join the Board of Directors. Craighead doesn't tug at your heart strings with pleas to save charismatic critters... ok.. well.. they do that for Pikas, but they are an obvious exception. Instead, Craighead builds tools. They create models and computer programs and books that beneath the hype and politics, bring people from disparate interests together to build consensus and make smart decision on planning and growth so that wildlife and landscape are respected. It's not flashy but it's the real work that underpins sensible choices.