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

Sam received a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology (2018) from the University of Maine. Upon graduation Sam worked at USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center where he collaborated with a team to develop and apply the Pothole Hydrology-Linked Systems Simulator (PHyLiSS) to investigate the impacts of climate and land-use change on prairie pothole wetlands. Sam then attended SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry where he received his M.S. in Fish and Wildlife Biology and Management (2021). Sam's M.S. research focused on applying stable isotope analysis to determine natal origins of Mallards harvested in the Atlantic Flyway and identifying habitat associations of breeding Mallards. Sam has returned to the Prairie Pothole region as a PhD student to quantify, spatially delineate, and classify drained prairie pothole wetlands in Eastern South Dakota. He will develop an inventory of restorable wetlands and model ecosystem services and wildlife values provided by various restoration efforts. Sam is co-advised by Dr. Josh Stafford at South Dakota State University and Dr. Owen McKenna at USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center.