There are several upcoming opportunities for students to engage on regional and statewide science + policy issues. These include:
1. The State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) is being updated in 2025. See: https://wdfw.wa.gov/species-habitats/at-risk/swap . There are opportunities for public involvement and a number of potential theses on the intersections between SWAP-associated ecological science, social science, and policy issues.

2. The SWAP identifies numerous ‘species of greatest conservation need’ in Washington, and provides assessments of their stressors and actions needed (to fill data gaps, etc.). One such species is the Olympic mudminnow, an endemic state sensitive species, local to SW WA (including TESC!). The WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife Status Report for this species was published in 1999, and an update is long overdue. The SWAP also identifies the need for more field surveys to determine the distribution, habitat use, and status of this unique fish.

3. Washington produces more hatchery fish than any other state in the nation, and improvements in genetic and ecological research tools indicate there are many unintended negative consequences hatchery programs can have on wild fish populations, including those listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. For recent summaries, see: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/fme.12643 and https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/02121 . An MES student could perform an objective review of WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife’s new hatchery policies and practices to evaluate their contemporary scientific merit, and implications for ongoing salmon and steelhead recovery efforts.

4. Water typing is a stream classification system used to determine riparian buffer width requirements for forest practices and most local government critical area ordinances. See: https://www.dnr.wa.gov/forest-practices-water-typing . WA Dept. of Natural Resources is attempting to develop GIS and field methods to map the distribution of fish habitat for the purposes of water typing. An MES student could perform an independent assessment of fish habitat criteria and associated field methods being developed by WA DNR for water typing; and/or an independent assessment of fish habitat mapping models being developed by WA DNR for water typing.

Thanks for the opportunity to share these thesis ideas. I’d be happy to discuss them further. Jamie Glasgow
Wild Fish Conservancy
jamie@wildfishconservancy.org