About Us

Elle grew up in northern Idaho where her experiences hunting, fishing and backpacking in the outdoors ignited her love of natural resources and led her to pursue a degree in Wildlife Management from the University of Idaho. While an undergraduate she worked as a technician on forestry, fisheries, range and wildlife projects. Following graduation she began seasonal work on a bighorn sheep project and was hooked by the charismatic species, leading her to spend the next two years as a bighorn research technician in Montana and Wyoming. Elle is grateful for the opportunity to continue pursuing her passion for wildlife management as a graduate student at the Borderlands Research Institute.

Desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) experienced widespread declines in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas due to competition with domestic livestock, disease, habitat loss and hunting pressure and were subsequently extirpated throughout the state by the early 1960’s. Restoration is an ongoing endeavor; translocation efforts have resulted in successful reestablishment and collaborative research continues to inform management strategies. However, recent epizootic events highlight the need for deeper understanding of how pathogens may be transmitted in bighorn herds across the landscape. This study will focus on space use and disease risk in desert bighorn sheep located at Black Gap Wildlife Management Area and Big Bend Ranch State Park, with the goal of predicting co-occurrence and disease transmission hotspots.