Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Dr. Lawson joined the New Mexico Unit as an Assistant Unit Leader of Wildlife in 2021. She received graduate degrees from the University of Nevada, Reno and Clemson University, and later worked as a postdoc in the Alabama Cooperative Research Unit at Auburn University, followed by the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. Her research incorporates ecological theory and quantitative methods to support decision making in the face of uncertainty. Her research often involves field studies to estimate population vital rates, and to describe movement and foraging patterns. Most of her research focuses on upland game birds, waterfowl, and reptiles, though she also works with species of conservation concern including raptors, songbirds, and fishes. Another major element of her research program involves the application of structured decision making and adaptive management, as well as the development of predictive models and decision analytic tools. She has provided decision support for diverse topics including monitoring program design, harvest programs, species conservation status designations, capital investments, and research prioritization. Dr. Lawson teaches graduate-level courses in Structured Decision Making as well as Model Selection & Multimodel Inference.