Lab @unlincoln | Providing applicable science to help landowners and management agencies balance the needs of ag landscapes while creating healthy ecosystems
Joined October 2020
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428 Photos and videos
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Introducing the WildAg Podcast!
WildAg is part of @NR_University and serves as a connection point for conservation professionals and landowners who want to integrate conservation with agriculture.
Episodes are now live! Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
ALT WildAg co-hosts, Nathan Pflueger and Andrew Little
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We will be transitioning away from X in the coming year. But don't worry! You can still follow along with our work on Facebook and Instagram!
Instagram: @awesmlab
Facebook: @awesmlab
Website: awesmlab.unl.edu
ALT A woman holding a Yagi antenna in a forested area
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We're on a mission to always be improving! Let us know what we're doing well and where we can improve our communication and Extension efforts in 2026!
Take the 3-4 min survey here: unlcorexmuw.qualtrics.com/jf…
Help shape our work in 2026!
Take our quick survey and share your feedback on how we can improve our communication and Extension.
🔗 unlcorexmuw.qualtrics.com/jf…
ALT Graphic of a clip board with pencil. Text reads, "We want your feedback."
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Help shape our work in 2026!
Take our quick survey and share your feedback on how we can improve our communication and Extension.
🔗 unlcorexmuw.qualtrics.com/jf…
ALT Graphic of a clip board with pencil. Text reads, "We want your feedback."
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New #WildAg episode is live!
This month we are joined by Sam Wilson and Frank Andelt from @NEGameandParks to share the amazing story of the river otter's return to Nebraska. Find this episode and more wherever you listen to podcasts.
ALT WildAg podcast logo overlaid on a photo of co-hosts Andy and Nathan. Text reads, "New episode! Return of the river otter."
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New #WildAg episode is dropping on Monday!
Next month we are joined by Sam Wilson and Frank Andelt from @NEGameandParks to share the amazing story of the river otter's return to Nebraska. Find this episode and more wherever you listen to podcasts.
ALT WildAg podcast logo on a green background. Text reads, "Upcoming episode! Return of the river otter."
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When one field or pasture is disturbed by fire, haying, or grazing, another nearby may need to stay undisturbed. That mix creates different types of vegetation structure wildlife can use throughout the year. Think habitat management 365!
ALT Two adjacent fields with differing levels of management and disturbance
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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the AWESM Lab!
ALT Pronghorn herd in the snow. Text reads, "Happy holidays."
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Check out this segment from @marketjournal on our work with prairie strips in Nebraska! Prairie strips offer so many benefits to farmers:
🌿Reduced runoff
🌿Quality wildlife habitat
🌿Improved soil quality
🌿Beautiful wildflowers
youtube.com/watch?v=HSeQQBNn…
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When an animal we are tracking dies, we recover the GPS transmitter. The transmitter emits a distinctive double-beep pulse indicating mortality. We track those beeps to locate the transmitter, essentially playing a game of “hot or cold” to determine where the signal is strongest.
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Applied Wildlife Ecology & Spatial Movement Lab retweeted
17 Dec 2025
Tune in to Panhandle Afield as Justin Haag and Dr. Andrew Little discuss wild turkey research. 🦃
🔊: brnw.ch/21wYrwA
📷: Justin Haag
ALT Wild Turkeys (Merriam's subspecies of Meleagris gallopavo) in Pine Ridge of Dawes County.
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Applied Wildlife Ecology & Spatial Movement Lab retweeted
🦃 Wild turkey populations have declined 45% in Nebraska since 2009. Dr. Andy Little from @AWESMLab joins @OfficialRFDTV to share how research is guiding landscape-scale solutions—like prairie strips—to benefit wildlife, ag producers & rural communities.
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Tomorrow at 9:00am central!!
12 Dec 2025
Dr. Andy Little from UN-L's School of Natural Resources, is the guest on this week’s Great Outdoor Radio Show. Andy'll talk about conservation, wildlife and more. Listen Saturday from 9-10 a.m. on Omaha/Lincoln Boomer, Fremont’s Big Dog, Bluffs Country or MyBoomerRadio.com
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Here's a cool episode from RFD-TV highlighting two of our projects! We just wrapped up the third and final season of our wild turkey project and, as suspected, a lack of habitat is a factor in population declines. But, the other project highlighted here is our work with prairie strips, which are one way to add native habitat back onto the landscape. It feels good to already have one solution in hand!
Watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=jLDCZ-FW…
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You might be done thinking about turkeys for the year, but we aren't!
Join @NEBland_Haag and @awesmlabdoc on the latest episode of Panhandle Afield to talk about our wild turkey research, which we wrapped up field work for earlier this year.
Give it a listen!
on.soundcloud.com/5jYHaLT68y…
📷: Justin Haag/Nebraskaland Magazine
ALT A wild turkey fitted with a backpack-style GPS transmitter flies off into the snow
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This month we are joined by Dr. Jordan Giese, Research Assistant Professor at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (@CKWRI) at Texas A&M University - Kingsville, to talk about prairie strips and his research on bird responses to prairie strips in row crop acres. From songbirds to Ring-necked pheasants, Dr. Giese shares how prairie strips can be beneficial for a range of wildlife within agricultural landscapes. Whether you are interested in birding, hunting, wildflowers, or soil health, prairie strips offer immense benefits for farmers across the Midwest.
Find this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas…
#WildAg #WildAgPodcast #Podcast #Farming #Agriculture #Conservation #Wildlife
ALT WildAg podcast logo overlaid on a photo of co-hosts Andy and Nathan. Text reads, "New episode! Prairie strips: practical conservation for modern farms and wildlife."
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Have you ever walked through great pheasant cover in the fall and thought, “This looks perfect”? It is — for fall.
But pheasants need different types of vegetation all year long (see last month’s Habitat Management post). Nesting cover in spring. Brood-rearing cover in summer. Tall, protective cover for fall and winter. Most of that isn’t obvious when we’re out hunting in November.
And on working lands, nothing stays the same for long. A field gets hayed. A patch burns. Cattle move to new pastures. Those everyday changes reset vegetation structure — shaping the vegetation pheasants rely on next season.
That’s where Megan Baldissara’s doctoral research comes in. Using publicly available satellite imagery, she mapped where fire, haying, and grazing happen across Nebraska’s working lands. These are the actions that influence future nesting, brood, and winter cover.
Her work lays the foundation for tools that can help landowners:
- Spot areas where habitat might be lacking
- Stagger management so everything isn’t reset at once
- Support wildlife while keeping farms productive
Understanding how the land changes — and how management shapes those changes — is key to sustaining pheasants and other wildlife in working landscapes.
Photos: Megan Baldissara
ALT A golden field full of thick grasses
ALT The same field after a burn; the grass is short and vivid green with some burned patches still showing through
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Happy Thanksgiving from the AWESM Lab!
📷: Kayli Newkirk
ALT Wild turkeys in the snow. Text reads, "Happy Thanksgiving."
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New WildAg episode is dropping on Monday!
Next month we are joined by Dr. Jordan Giese, Research Assistant Professor at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University - Kingsville, to talk about prairie strips and his research on bird responses to prairie strips in row crop acres. Whether you are interested in birding, hunting, wildflowers, or soil health, prairie strips offer immense benefits for farmers across the Midwest.
#WildAg #WildAgPodcast #Conservation #Farming #Podcast #PrairieStrips
ALT WildAg podcast logo on a green background. Text reads, "Upcoming episode! Prairie strips: practical conservation for modern farms and wildlife."
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Applied Wildlife Ecology & Spatial Movement Lab retweeted
25 Nov 2025
Most fences can easily be crossed by wild turkeys, but research shows some fences create barriers, and individual birds vary in their willingness to cross fences. Anyone seen a turkey hang up and not cross a fence they easily could? @wildturkeylab @NWTF_official
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Coyotes, raccoons, skunks, and other mid-sized predators—often called mesopredators—are an important part of ecosystems. Where they show up and how many are around depends heavily on the type of habitat on the landscape. And as Nebraska’s landscapes have changed over time, so have these predator communities.
Our lab, along with the Nebraska Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, is working on a project to understand mesopredator presence in southwestern Nebraska and what factors are influencing the distribution and populations of mesopredators throughout this area.
What this research will provide:
- A predictive framework for mesopredator occupancy across different habitat types
- Science-based insights that support decisions promoting healthy, balanced wildlife communities
- Information to help landowners and stakeholders understand how habitat influences mesopredator activity and overall ecosystem function
By understanding how habitat guides predator activity, we can make better decisions for wildlife and working lands.
ALT Camera trap photo of a coyote in a Nebraska field
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