Pine beetle v. Colorado
Gov. Bill Ritter in February created the Colorado Forest Health Advisory Council to fight the mountain pine beetle epidemic and other threats to Colorado's 22 million acres of forestland. The 24-member group will establish long-term strategies for sustainable forest health, including a statewide vision to protect communities from fire and restore forest health, guiding principles for the design and implementation of restoration projects, and ways to increase public awareness about the relationship between healthy forests and clean drinking water, wildlife habitat, safe communities, and strong economies. Jeff Jahnke, state forester and director of the Colorado State Forest Service, and Harris Sherman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, will co-chair the council.
Crime doesn’t pay
"Justice for all" could be the mantra of the new Center for the Study of Crime and Justice at Colorado State University. The recently opened center will address criminology and criminal justice at the state, national, and international levels, says Prabha Unnithan, center director. Center researchers will study crime, policing, the courts, and corrections, including the analysis of environmental crime and justice, corporate and governmental deviance, and the social factors underlying crime and violence. The center also will research such issues as gun distribution patterns among convicted felons, comparative analyses of policing in other societies, and communication training for state patrol officers. Colorado State University Extension will partner with the center to provide technical and training assistance to criminal justice agencies across Colorado.
Into the wild
Wildlife management has taken on a new meaning: animal birth control. Colorado State researchers are working to manage the overpopulation of bison, deer, elk, and wild horses, which damage native habitat and compromise the survival of other species. "Hunting and culling have traditionally been used to regulate animal numbers in the wild, but other approaches that meet public approval are needed," says Terry Nett, researcher at CSU’s Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology Lab. The drug leuprolide and the vaccine GonaCon show great promise as wildlife contraceptives in female elk, explains Nett. Leuprolide prevents pregnancy for one breeding season, and GonaCon prevents the pituitary gland from stimulating the ovaries for up to 3 years in some species. Both can be administered by dart, and neither method significantly affects social behavior of the herd during the breeding season.
High-altitude wine
Colorado's budding wine industry has the potential to become a niche market, says Stephen Menke, the state's new enologist and associate enology professor at Colorado State University. Grapes grown at Colorado's high altitude have a unique flavor and an "unquantified" taste, notes Menke. Based at CSU's Western Colorado Research Center in Grand Junction, Menke will research the unique characteristics of Colorado grapes and help develop the Colorado wine brand. Investing in the wine industry is an investment in family agriculture, Menke says. Working with grape farmers to grow grapes that perform best at high altitude is essential. Growing grapes can make farmland more profitable, which can help small family farms stay in business. Colorado's wine industry contributed more than $40 million to the state's economy during the 2005 growing season.
Business best
Business Week magazine recently ranked Colorado State University's College of Business as one of the top undergraduate business programs in the country. The magazine surveyed more than 80,000 graduating seniors at 127 eligible programs on the quality of teaching and overall student satisfaction and interviewed 618 corporate recruiters on where to find the best graduates, curricula, and career services. Colorado State ranked No. 73 overall — 32nd among all public schools listed in the 2008 rankings.
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