Scott Hygnstrom

Scott Hygnstrom

  • Contact Information
  • My Story
  • Background
  • Grants

Contact Information

TitleEmeritus Wildlife Damage Professor
Faculty RankProfessor Emeritus
Address Whittier Research Center
420 Westwoods Lane
Stevens Points WI
64482

Off Campus
Phone
  • office: 715-544-9379
E-mailshygnstrom1@unl.edu
VitaeDownload file

 

My Story

Hi, I'm Scott Hygnstrom, professor emeritus and extension wildlife damage specialist for the School of Natural Resources. I'm associated with the fisheries and wildlife undergraduate major and the wildlife ecology graduate specialization.

My major interests have been wildlife damage management, integrated pest management, biological management (control) of pests, wildlife-agriculture interactions, wildlife diseases, human dimensions in wildlife, and the ecology of ungulates (hoofed mammals), rodents, and predators.

Scott Hygnstrom
Scott Hygnstrom, professor of wildlife and extension wildlife damage specialist, talks to farmers.

Wildlife damage issues are pervasive throughout society, and human-wildlife conflicts are increasing in frequency, impact and significance. Public demand for information and services in wildlife damage management is increasing across the nation.

My programs included the revision of "Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage," a book I co-edited that has been published by University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension. Written by many authors, including some in the School, at two volumes comprising 850 pages and 11,400 copies sold, it has become the leading reference in wildlife damage management.

I'm also worked on expanding the "Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management," teaching classes in wildlife damage management and wildlife diseases, surveillance of wildlife diseases in Nebraska, and research programs on deer and chronic wasting disease in Nebraska.

My most recent research involves the ecology of elk in Nebrask; the effects of frightening devices in reducing deer damage in cornfields; prairie dogs and the prairie ecosystem; the annual Urban Pest Management Conference; integrated pest management in K-12 schools in Nebraska; and economic modeling of rodents in swine facilities.

As a testimony to the needs being met by these programs, the Integrated Pest Management-Vertebrates program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln stands out as a national leader in wildlife damage management. More than 30 graduates from our program have established careers in wildlife damage management in federal, state, and private institutions.

I received my bachelor's in biology at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in 1980; my master's in natural resources-wildlife from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1983; and my Ph.D. in wildlife ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988. I've been at this university since then.

As mentioned above, my extension publishing has included:

  • Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage
  • Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management
  • Prairie Dogs and the Prairie Ecosystem

Background

Education

DegreeMajorInstitutionYear Awarded
Doctorate of PhilosophyWildlife EcologyUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison1988
Master of ScienceWildlifeUniversity of Wisconsin-Stevens Point1983
Bachelor of ScienceBiology, ConservationUniversity of Wisconsin-River Falls1980

 

Awards

TitleAwarded byYear Awarded
Career AwardThe Wildlife Society - Nebraska Chapter2013
Educator of the YearNational Wildlife Contol Operators Association2012
Holling Family Awards for Teaching Excellence in Agriculture and Natural ResourcesUNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources2011
Conservation Education AwardThe Wildlife Society2010
Twenty-year Service AwardUniversity of Nebraska2008
Award of ExcellenceNortheast Extension Directors Association2007
Excellence in Team Programming AwardUNL-Extension2005
Professional Development CertificateThe Wildlife Society2003
Professor of the MonthUNL Mortar Board, The Black Masque Chapter2003
Charles E. Bessey AwardUNL Center for Great Plains Studies2002
Educational Publication AwardSoil and Water Conservation Society2001
Team Programming AwardsNebraska Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi2000
Distinguished Service AwardNebraska Cooperative Extension Association-Specialists Section1999
Team Programming AwardsNebraska Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi1999
Certificates of ExcellenceAmerican Society of Agronomy1997
Early Career AwardEpsilon Sigma Phi1997
Communication AwardBerryman Institute for Wildlife Damage Management1996
Excellence in Team Programming AwardUNL-Extension1996
Team Programming AwardsNebraska Chapter of Epsilon Sigma Phi1996
Certificates of ExcellenceAmerican Society of Agronomy1995
Educational Aids AwardAmerican Society of Horticultural Science1995
Excellence in Team Programming Award (2 Awards)UNL-Extension1994
Outstanding New Specialist AwardNebraska Coop Extension Association-Specialists Section1994
Award of MeritCouncil for the Advancement of Science Education1993
Professional Development CertificateThe Wildlife Society1992
Excellence in Team Programming AwardUNL-Extension1991
Team Effort AwardUNL Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources1991
Certified Wildlife BiologistThe Wildlife Society1990

 

Professional Organizations

NamePosition
American Society of Mammalogists
Center for Great Plains Studies
Extension Fish and Wildlife SpecialistsSteering Committee (2007-2010)
National Animal Damage Control AssociationVice President (2000-2006)
Nebraska Cooperative Extension AssociationSpecialist Section Chair (2000-2002)
Society for Conservation Biology
The Wildlife SocietyWidlife Damage Management Working Group Chair (1996-1998), Wildife Disease Working Group Chair (2009-2010), Nebraska Chapter President (elect, standing, past) (1995-1998), Board Representative (1992-1994, 2008-2009)
USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services
USDA-APHIS-WS-National Wildlife Research Center
Wildlife Disease Association

 

Websites

 

SNR Program Areas

  • Applied Ecology

Grants

Currently this page only displays grants that were awarded on 1/1/ 2009 to the present. If a grant was awarded prior to 1/1/ 2009 and is still active, it will not be displayed on this page.

Grant TitleNebraska Master Naturalist Program
Starting Date04/29/2014

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2015
Funding Level$87,433.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Environmental Trust

 

Grant TitleOutdoor U
Starting Date07/01/2013

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2016
Funding Level$262,381.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleNebraska Master Naturalist
Starting Date07/31/2012

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2013
Funding Level$77,900.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Environmental Trust

 

Grant TitleNebraska Master Naturalist
Starting Date07/01/2012

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2015
Funding Level$135,000.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleWildlife Disease Surveillance
Starting Date09/23/2011

Investigator(s)

Ending Date09/22/2012
Funding Level$30,000.00
Funding AgencyUS Department of Agriculture

 

Grant TitleToward the Development of Spatially Explicit Models of Wildlife Disease (additional funding)
Starting Date08/30/2011

Investigator(s)

Ending Date08/30/2012
Funding Level$100,100.00
Funding AgencyAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service

 

Grant TitleOutdoor U Program (additional funding)
Starting Date02/01/2011

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2012
Funding Level$26,135.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleEvaluate Deer Crossing I-80 (additional funding)
Starting Date01/01/2011

Investigator(s)

Ending Date12/31/2012
Funding Level$16,069.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Department of Roads

 

Grant TitleNE EIPM-CS Coordination Program 2011 (additional funding)
Starting Date09/01/2010

Investigator(s)

Ending Date08/31/2012
Funding Level$223,305.00
Funding AgencyNE EIPM

 

Grant TitleDevelopment of Spatially Explicit Models of Wildlife Disease (additional funding)
Starting Date08/30/2010

Investigator(s)

Ending Date08/30/2011
Funding Level$220,000.00
Funding AgencyUS Department of Agriculture

 

Grant TitleOutdoor U Program
Starting Date07/01/2010

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2013
Funding Level$226,655.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleNebraska Master Naturalist Program: Recruitment, Training, and Management of Conservation Volunteers (additional funding)
Starting Date04/01/2010

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2011
Funding Level$50,000.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Environmental Trust

 

Grant TitleAssessment of Best Practices for Redistribution Elk to Benefit Vegetation in Rocky Mountain National Park
Starting Date08/15/2009

Investigator(s)

Ending Date09/30/2010
Funding Level$35,761.00
Funding AgencyNational Parks Service

 

Grant TitleMaster Naturalist Program
Starting Date06/01/2009

Investigator(s)

Ending Date05/31/2012
Funding Level$75,000.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleMaster Naturalist Program
Starting Date06/01/2009

Investigator(s)

Ending Date05/31/2012
Funding Level$46,977.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleMaster Naturalist Program (additional funding)
Starting Date06/01/2009

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2012
Funding Level$3,707.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleEffectiveness of a Humane, Non-Lethal Technique for Raccoon Removal from Human-Occupied Structures in Urban Areas
Starting Date03/01/2009

Investigator(s)

Ending Date12/31/2009
Funding Level$13,758.00
Funding AgencyPest Management Foundation

 

Grant TitleWild Turkeys: Real and Perceived Damage Literature Review
Starting Date01/01/2009

Investigator(s)

Ending Date12/31/2009
Funding Level$1,000.00
Funding AgencyNational Wild Turkey Federation

 

Grant TitleAnalysis of Games and Parks Commission Data Related to Hemorrhagic Disease
Starting Date10/01/2008

Investigator(s)

Ending Date03/31/2009
Funding Level$5,500.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Game and Parks Commission

 

Grant TitleDeveloping Models of Wildlife Disease
Starting Date08/31/2008

Investigator(s)

Ending Date05/31/2010
Funding Level$138,015.00
Funding AgencyUS Department of Agriculture - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

 

Grant TitleEvaluate Deer Crossing I-80 (additional funding)
Starting Date08/01/2008

Investigator(s)

Ending Date12/31/2011
Funding Level$5,553.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Department of Roads

 

Grant TitleWildlife Damage Management Enhancement
Starting Date07/01/2008

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2009
Funding Level$3,750.00
Funding AgencyeXtension Fund

 

Grant TitleNebraska Master Naturalist Program: Recruitment, Training, and Management of Conservation Volunteers
Starting Date04/15/2008

Investigator(s)

Ending Date06/30/2012
Funding Level$192,639.00
Funding AgencyNebraska Environmental Trust