Los Alamos National Laboratory technical staff member Susan Rupp will speak about environmental changes and resulting concerns arising from an increasing elk population in a talk Thursday (April 22) at the Laboratory's Bradbury Science Museum downtown. The talk begins at 7 p.m., and is free and open to the public. It is cosponsored by the Pajarito Environmental Education Center.
"While the elk have caused adverse impacts to cultural and natural resources, programmatic operations, socioeconomic relations and human safety, the real challenge now revolves around the differing management objectives of the state of New Mexico, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Bandelier National Monument, the U.S. Forest Service, tribal communities and the newly created Valles Caldera National Preserve," said Rupp, of Los Alamos' Ecology Group.
Modern technology, including the use of global positioning systems, has provided innovative methods by which these problems can be addressed. Data collected through the use of global positioning systems radio collars are being used to assess habitat use and to mitigate potential adverse impacts caused by changes in elk movement and distribution in response to the Cerro Grande Fire, she said, adding that other research conducted by the Laboratory in collaboration with various agencies also will be discussed.
Rupp, a Ph.D. candidate, has been studying and characterizing elk movement pathways across the Jemez Mountains and on land operated by the Laboratory. She also has been working to determine the effects of the Cerro Grande Fire on elk movement. Rupp is a certified associate wildlife biologist with the Wildlife Society and a member of the Society for Conservation Biology.
The talk is part of a number of events the Laboratory, Los Alamos County and the Pajarito Environmental Education Center are cosponsoring in April in observance of Earth Day, which is celebrated nationally on Thursday.
The Bradbury Science Museum is located at 15th Street and Central Avenue in downtown Los Alamos. Museum hours apart from special events are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday through Monday.
The Bradbury Science Museum is part of Los Alamos' Public Affairs Office.
For more information, contact Pat Berger at 665-0896.
Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy and works in partnership with NNSA's Sandia and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories to support NNSA in its mission.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.