The Sequoia Park Zoo Conservation Lecture Series continues Wednesday,

November 14, 2018, with a lecture entitled “Roosevelt Elk in Northwestern California”. Presenters include Carrington Hilson from California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Micaela Szykman Gunther, Tim Bean, Adam Mohr and Erin Nigon from Humboldt State University (HSU). Additional collaborators and contributors will be present. The lecture will be held in the Zoo’s Flamingo Room at 7:00 PM and preceded by a reception beginning at 6:30 PM.

The CDFW and HSU are working together to examine elk populations in northwestern California. The main goal of this collaborative study is to estimate elk abundance and compare several survey techniques for monitoring elk populations in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. In addition, this study is examining habitat use, resource selection, behavior, recruitment, disease, and cause-specific mortality.

Carrington Hilson is an Elk Research Biologist for the CDFW. She is currently working to examine elk abundance and population characteristics in Del Norte and Humboldt counties. Carrington served as the Wildlife Disease Biologist for Arizona Game before returning to Humboldt County where she received her Master’s degree in Wildlife from Humboldt State University. Micaela Szykman Gunther and Tim Bean are Professors in the Department of Wildlife at HSU. Adam Mohr and Erin Nigon are graduate students in the Wildlife program; Erin is also a Technician on the elk project with CDFW.