News and Events
From Pizza Delivery to Natural Resources Planning
Amber Bumgardner Mense always knew she wanted a career in the outdoors. After earning multiple associates degrees and certifications, volunteering every chance she got, and navigating a slow job market during the COVID pandemic, she came across an opening in CEMML’s Early-career Development Program. That experience led to a full-time position with CEMML as a Natural Resources Planning Specialist.
June 1, 2023
CEMML Program Helps Military Installations Plan for Climate Change
CEMML’s Climate Adaptation and Management Planning Program (CAMPP) provides a multi-disciplinary analysis of the threats that Department of Defense installations face from climate change. Program manager Dr. Mindy Clarke shares her perspective on the origins of the CAMPP program, its current work, and its vision for the future.
June 1, 2023
Reymundo “Tony” Chapa to Step Down as CEMML Executive Director
At the end of June, Reymundo “Tony” Chapa will leave his post as executive director of Colorado State University’s Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML). After a five-year tenure, marked by transition, Chapa is hopeful new leadership can pickup where he left off and continue to expand upon it.
June 1, 2023
Newscast Highlights CEMML’s Environmental Support to U.S. Army in Hawaii
During an open house event in April, CEMML staff based at the U.S. Army’s Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA) in Hawaii, shared information about the recycling program and provided interactive displays and other activities to highlight natural and cultural resource management efforts.
April 28, 2023
CEMML Internship Leads to Full-time Wildlife Job in Alaska
Before finding CEMML, Corey Clements had no idea that a career as a biologist on a military base was possible. Following a string of short-term jobs after graduating from South Dakota State University, an opportunity in CEMML’s early-career development program brought him to Alaska, evolving into a full-time position.
April 24, 2023
CEMML Aids Army in Monitoring Threat to Native Trees in Hawaii
CEMML staff members Pamela Sullivan and Jason Dzurisin, members of Pōhakuloa Training Area’s Natural Resources Program, conducted aerial surveys in January 2023 to monitor for Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD), a new fungal disease that is a threat to native tree populations in Hawaii.
April 18, 2023
CEMML Principal Investigator and Natural Resource Expert Joins Executive Committee
Bill Sprouse, a long-time CEMML natural resource expert and principal investigator, recently joined its executive committee as an assistant director. After nearly three decades of experience with the organization, he hopes to hit the ground running and continue to support one of CEMML’s most crucial resources: Its people.
April 3, 2023
Ph.D. Candidate Visits CEMML Endangered Species Staff at Fort Polk
Ohio State University Ph.D. candidate Emily Rabung, recently met with CEMML endangered species staff Chris Melder, Matt Christiansen, Amy Brennan, and Andrhea Massey. They discussed conservation efforts on Fort Polk with the red-cockaded woodpecker and the Louisiana pine snake.
March 27, 2023
CEMML Early-career Development Program Offers Experience in Managing Military Lands
The CEMML Early-career Development Program gives college students and recent graduates opportunities to work at military installations on natural and cultural resource projects. As seasonal technicians, participants learn new skills, receive mentorship, make career-aiding connections, all while getting paid doing it.
March 23, 2023
A Life-long Love of Plants: CEMML Botanist Retires After Three Decades at CSU
Nancy Hastings’ love for plants and spending time in the outdoors led her to Colorado State University in 1989 to pursue a graduate degree in Range Science. After graduating, she would spend the next 34 years as a botanist with the university’s Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML), helping military installations across the U.S. and overseas manage their natural resources.
February 22, 2023
Air Force-CEMML Partnership Seeks to Reduce Aviation Risks Associated with Wildlife
A partnership between the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML) and the Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) is developing an application to help Air Force installations understand wildlife population densities and behavior patterns. The effort aims to prevent wildlife associated aircraft incidents—collectively known as Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard, or BASH.
February 16, 2023
Army Secretary Tours CEMML-Supported Natural Resource Program Sites in Hawaii
CEMML senior cooperator program manager, Lena Schnell, along with U.S. Army Garrison Pōhakuloa Training Area (PTA) biologist Tiana Lackey, provided information on the installation’s natural resources program to the Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Christine E. Wormuth, during her visit to PTA in January.
January 24, 2023