MISSOULA – A University of Montana wildlife biology doctoral student recently earned a fellowship to study endangered species habitat along the Rio Grande River.

Will Janousek (UM Photo)
Will Janousek (UM Photo)
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Will Janousek received the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Directorate Resource Fellowship, which will send him to the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico to collaborate with federal biologists for 12 weeks this summer.

“I’m honored to be selected as one of about 20 Fellows working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service across the country this summer,” Janousek said.

Janousek will assess the success of a habitat restoration project along the Rio Grande River to determine whether the project is on track and meeting recovery objectives.

“Several threatened and endangered species, such as the Rio Grande silvery minnow and the southwestern willow flycatcher, occur along the river corridor,” he said. “The work I’ll be completing will hopefully aid in the recovery of these species.”

The fellowship gives undergraduate or graduate students a chance to demonstrate to supervisors their qualifications for a career in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

At UM, Janousek studies the effects of habitat disturbance on forest songbird communities in the greater Rocky Mountain region. He wants to help forest managers understand how fire and management actions used to control fire impact songbird diversity. He works with the Avian Science Center at UM.

Janousek has a bachelor’s degree in wildlife conservation and management from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of California-Santa Cruz.

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