Alyson Courtemanch is currently an M.S. student in the Wyoming Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit at the University of Wyoming. Aly grew up in central Maine and graduated from St. Lawrence University in upstate New York in 2005 with a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Studies. While at St. Lawrence, she studied abroad for a semester in Kenya and returned a year later to conduct independent research for her senior thesis on land cover change after livestock exclusion on a Maasai group ranch. After finishing college, Aly took an internship studying agoutis and palm seed dispersal on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, and then worked for several years around Jackson Hole, Wyoming for Grand Teton National Park and the Wyoming Game & Fish Department on bison, black bears, elk, raptors, and sage grouse. For the past 3 years, Aly has been coordinating the Teton Bighorn Sheep Project in collaboration with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department, Grand Teton National Park, and Bridger-Teton and Caribou-Targhee National Forests. This project encompasses her two main interests: large mammal research and management and the human dimension of wildlife conservation, both of which she would like to continue to pursue in her future career. She also developed a blog for the project that aims to provide information to the public about project goals and progress. Aly also helped conduct an analysis examining bighorn sheep translocation in Devil’s Canyon, Wyoming in collaboration with the Wyoming Game & Fish Department and our research group. In her free time, Aly enjoys Nordic skiing, rock climbing, backcountry skiing, traveling, and making a wicked blueberry pie.Professional Preparation and Appointments
D’Antonio, A., C. Monz, S. Lawson, P. Newman, D. Pettebone, and A. Courtemanch. 2010. GPS-based measurements of backcountry visitors in parks and protected areas: examples of methods and applications from three case studies. Journal of Park and Recreation Administration 28:42-60.
Kauffman, M.J., A.B. Courtemanch, A.B. Rutledge, K.P Hurley, T.G. Easterly, and D.B. McDonald. In prep. Resource selection and group association of transplanted bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in north-central Wyoming: Does source herd matter?
Selected Presentations
Courtemanch, A.B., M.J. Kauffman, S. Kilpatrick, and S. Dewey. Winter resource selection strategies of a formerly migratory bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) population in the Teton Range, northwest Wyoming. Annual Meeting of the Wyoming Chapter of the Wildlife Society. Lander, WY. 18 November 2010.
Courtemanch, A.B., M.J. Kauffman, A.B. Rutledge, K.P. Hurley, T.G. Easterly, and D.B. McDonald. Habitat selection and group association of transplanted bighorn sheep in north-central Wyoming: Does source herd matter? 90th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists. Laramie, WY. 13 June 2010.
Courtemanch, A.B., M.J. Kauffman, A.B. Rutledge, K.P. Hurley, T.G. Easterly, and D.B. McDonald. Habitat selection and group association of transplanted bighorn sheep in north-central Wyoming: Does source herd matter? 17th Biennial Symposium of the Northern Wild Sheep and Goat Council. Hood River, OR. 11 June 2010.
Courtemanch, A.B., M.J. Kauffman, S. Kilpatrick, and S. Dewey. Seasonal resource selection, movement, and impact of winter backcountry recreation on bighorn sheep in the Teton Range: a project update. Semiannual meeting of the Wyoming Foundation of North American Wild Sheep. Sheridan, WY. 5 June 2010.
Courtemanch, A.B., M.J. Kauffman, A.B. Rutledge, K.P. Hurley, T.G. Easterly, and D.B. McDonald. Resource selection and group association of transplanted bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in north-central Wyoming, USA: Does source herd matter? 5th World Conference on Mountain Ungulates. Granada, Spain. 11 November 2009.
Courtemanch, A.B., M.J. Kauffman, A.B. Rutledge, K.P. Hurley, T.G. Easterly, and D.B. McDonald. Resource selection and group association of transplanted bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in north-central Wyoming, USA: Does source herd matter? Annual meeting of the Wyoming Chapter of the Wildlife Society. Cody, WY. 4 November 2009.
Courtemanch, A.B., M.J. Kauffman, S. Kilpatrick, and S. Dewey. Seasonal resource selection, movement, and impact of winter backcountry recreation on bighorn sheep in the Teton Range: a project update. Annual Grand Teton National Park Research Symposium. Grand Teton National Park, WY. 1 September 2009.
Courtemanch, A.B. Living the high life? Bighorn sheep in the Teton Range. Naturalist Night Summer Speaker Series at the Jackson Hole & Greater Yellowstone Visitor Center. Jackson, WY. 11 August 2009.
Courtemanch, A.B., M.J. Kauffman, S. Kilpatrick, and S. Dewey. Seasonal resource selection, movement, movement, and human disturbance of bighorn sheep in the Teton Range. Annual meeting of the Wyoming Chapter of the Wildlife Society. Sheridan, WY. 20 November 2008.
Scholarships & Fellowships
2010: WyomingView Scholarship
2008: L. Floyd Clarke Greater Yellowstone Scholarship, Deptartment of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming