This monthly roundup keeps our community informed by highlighting the top Warner College news stories and social media posts.

Alex Wagner from the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, was named the spring 2026 outstanding graduate for the Warner College of Natural Resources. Wagner's 1998 Honda Accord, the last gift his mother gave him before she passed away, defined many pivotal moments during his time as an undergraduate.

Meet the six Warner College nominees for outstanding graduate. 

George Wittemyer, professor in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and his colleagues at Save the Elephants, closely follow the lives of the elephants in Samburu National Reserve, tracking their births, deaths and the complexity of their social networks and behavior. The fieldwork that allowed them to identify the wayward calf and reunite her with her family is critical to the conservation of African elephants.

Camille Stevens-Rumann, associate professor in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship was one of six fire experts who spoke at the “Living with Fire: The Past, Present and Future of Fire in Colorado” symposium on May 9. The symposium was hosted by the Estes Valley Watershed Coalition, in partnership with Northern Colorado Fireshed Collaborative.

In an interview with the Mighty Arrow Family Foundation, John Sanderson, director of the Center for Collaborative Conservation, discusses his work navigating the sociopolitical divides that sometimes surround conservation issues.

Researchers at CSU are part of a new international collaboration known as the Agricultural Nitrogen Use Efficiency Platform, which aims to reduce agricultural emissions while maintaining crop productivity. “AgNUE will provide a unique dataset measuring a suite of nitrogen losses across experimental fields in Europe and North America,” said Stephen Ogle, professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability and senior research scientist at the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory. “That data can improve models and give farmers more accurate information about nitrogen management options.”

The skills that the CSU Logging Sports team develop, such as pole climbing and chainsaw cutting, can directly transfer to forestry jobs. That’s all the more crucial as Colorado looks for workers to help fight a massive pine beetle outbreak. 

Colorado's drought and repeated high-fire danger are raising new concerns about the long-term impact on the state's water supply. Aurora Water is warning that wildfires could devastate the water supply for years after the flames are out. Ellen Wohl, professor in the Department of Geosciences, said the problem starts with the leftover ash and sediment after a fire.

Melanie Matthews, graduating senior in the Department of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, reflects on her time as a member of the student group, Octopi of CSU, where its members crocheted thousands of octopi and hid them around campus, "spreading kindness through creativity."