Texas About Us
-1.jpg "Fisheries and Wildlife Research Building")
The Texas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (Unit) was established at Texas Tech University in 1988 by the U.S. Congress and was first staffed in 1989. Our mission is to conduct and facilitate research, train graduate students, and provide technical service on natural resource issues of interest to cooperators and the public. Natural resources targeted by our research range from endangered species to invasive species to game species. Our research utilizes concepts and approaches from the fields of animal ecology, physiology, toxicology, conservation and environmental science, and structured decision-making.
Unit activities are guided by a coordinating committee consisting of Texas Tech University, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, The Wildlife Management Institute, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey. The U.S. Geological Survey provides funds to support three federal scientist positions at the Unit who are members of the university’s graduate faculty and teach graduate level courses; the university provides office and laboratory space and office support staff; Texas Parks and Wildlife Department provides a portion of the base fund for maintenance and operations; and all cooperators provide research funds according to needs. A reduced overhead rate for Unit research projects facilitates access to university faculty with expertise in a wide spectrum of natural resource questions of importance to state and federal cooperators.
The Natural Resources Management Department at Texas Tech University is the primary home department of the Unit. Unit offices are housed in the Agricultural Sciences Building, which is centrally located on campus near the University Library and Student Union Building. Unit students and laboratory facilities are primarily housed in the nearby Fisheries and Wildlife Research Building across from Goddard Hall, home of Natural Resources Management. Additional laboratory and student office spaces are located in the Biological Sciences Building.
Research facilities and equipment managed by the Unit include aquatic laboratories for aquarium set ups, standard laboratories for biochemical and physiological tests, a state-of-the-art histopathology laboratory, a variety of field equipment for aquatic and terrestrial research, and a fleet of vehicles to facilitate student and research staff access to field sites.