Article

Winter 2001

Asking for trouble

Hunting may create cougar problems

IF THE COUGAR IS ANYTHING like its fellow carnivore the grizzly, then the method we’re using to try to solve our current problems with cougars may well aggravate rather than alleviate them.

Rob Wielgus, director of the Large Carnivore Conservation Laboratory at Washington State University, turned the Canadian wildlife management world upside down with his graduate and postgraduate research showing that trophy hunting of grizzly bears in the Kananaskis region of Alberta was neither beneficial nor benign to the resident population. His work indicated that trophy hunting would lead to the extinction of the grizzly population in 15 to 20 … » More …

Winter 2001

State Economy: Across the new divide

Sooner than you think, you’re going to connect those dots and discover the whole state lit up.

THE VARIOUS PEOPLES OF Washington have successfully prevailed over many divides— mountain passes, raging rivers, ocean straits, even cultural differences— that separated comfort and prosperity from isolation and hard times. There were grim consequences to encounters with those divides, and sometimes stuff and people were jettisoned so a few could make it across. We wouldn’t be here at all if we had seriously miscalculated who had the right to survive.

Now, in a techno-economic system constantly challenged to be robust and resilient enough to meet the fiercest global … » More …

Winter 2001

Firstenburg family fountain dedicated at WSU Vancouver

Intermittent spurts of water play on native basalt slabs and columns in the new Firstenburg Family Fountain at Washington State University Vancouver. Local residents Ed and Mary Firstenburg, owners of First Independent Bank, donated $500,000 to create the fountain and plaza as a focal point for the 351-acre campus. The Firstenburg family was recognized at an August 16 dedication. Ed is a graduate of the University of Washington and fondly remembers students gathering on the campus plaza in Seattle during his college days. WSU Vancouver executive officer and dean Hal Dengerink said the fountain is “a permanent legacy for the Firstenburg family and for WSU … » More …

Winter 2001

Washington apples—best of the best

ALTHOUGH DEBATE will continue over the benefits of organic versus conventional farming, Washington State University scientists have established that organic production of apples is more sustainable than conventional apple production. Soil scientist John Reganold, soils graduate student Jerry Glover, horticulturist Preston Andrews, and agricultural economist Herbert Hinman reported the results of a six-year study comparing organic, integrated, and conventional apple production in the cover article of the April 19, 2001 Nature.

In 1994 the researchers planted four acres of Golden Delicious apples within a Yakima Valley commercial orchard. Plots of equal size were managed according to organic, conventional, and integrated farming practices. Integrated farming … » More …

Winter 2001

WSU reports record enrollment

Over the past year fall semester enrollment at Washington State University’s four campuses grew by 2.5 percent—from 21,248 to 21,794. The freshman class at the Pullman campus is the second largest in history and the most diverse ever, with students of color totaling 409, or 15 percent of the class. The class total increased to 2,619 from a fall 2000 total of 2,473. Transfer students were up from 1,318 to 1,329.

“We are pleased with these solid numbers,” said Charlene Jaeger, vice president for student affairs. “The University plans to attract the most able students. We are interested in quality, not quantity.”

The average … » More …

Winter 2001

Shanthi the elephant is due in December

AS YOU MIGHT WELL IMAGINE, artificially inseminating an elephant is a touchy business. But, says Janine Brown, artificial insemination (AI) is an important tool, because natural reproduction can be difficult for captive elephants. Bulls are dangerous to keep, there aren’t many of them around, and transporting the females to where the bulls are is both stressful and expensive.

Brown, who completed two degrees in animal science (’80 M.S., ’84 Ph.D.) at Washington State University, is the senior endocrinologist at the Smithsonian Institution National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C. There, in late February 2000, she coordinated the successful artificial insemination (AI) of Shanthi, a 24-year-old … » More …

Winter 2001

Curing what ails you

IF GARY MEADOWS is right, popping Prozac will do more for you than relieve depression. Meadows’s preliminary data suggest that fluoxetine, the generic form of Prozac, inhibits the growth of melanoma tumors in mice.

The Prozac project began about two years ago in collaboration with neurophysiologist Tanja Obradovic, then at Washington State University. Obradovic and Meadows, who is Dorothy O. Kennedy distinguished professor and director of WSU’s Cancer Prevention and Research Center in Spokane, knew that melanoma cells not only make the neurotransmitter serotonin, but also have receptors for it. A receptor is a site on a cell that binds with substances such as … » More …

Winter 2001

Hot shot

“Nothing beats a hot shot crew. You are like the green berets, the special forces of fire. It’s a camaraderie like no other.”

WHEN CHRIS BOLZ came looking for summer work nine years ago, the fire boss took one look at the athletic 19-year-old and said, “Son, this is your lucky day.”

Bored out of his wits in Tonasket, Washington, Bolz had walked into the nearest Forest Service office at his father’s insistence. They said they could use him right away on a blaze in Wenatchee, so Bolz agreed to go. Then the fire boss reached into his pocket for a book of matches, and … » More …

Winter 2001

$3 million WSU scholarship program targets Washington high school seniors

HIGH-ACHIEVING Washington high school seniors who choose to enroll at Washington State University could share more than $3 million in scholarship awards under the University’s new Regents Scholars Program.

“The program aims to recognize outstanding seniors by acknowledging their accomplishments and offering them opportunities for significant support toward their education at WSU,” President V. Lane Rawlins said.

High school principals in the state received nomination forms for the Class of 2002 that had to be returned to WSU by September 15. Beginning in February, the principals will be asked to nominate members of the junior class—the Class of 2003—for the scholarship. Each principal can … » More …

Winter 2001

You want impact? Well, we’ve go impact

Since September, serendipitous Seattleites have been treated to a billboard campaign about the high quality of Washington State University’s programs and faculty. The billboards are part of a statewide advertising campaign that debuted last spring in newspapers from Seattle to Spokane. Showcasing the University’s faculty, staff, and students, the campaign is designed to appeal to high-achieving students and their parents. It demonstrates high-quality, intense learning opportunities between WSU faculty and students. In addition to newspaper ads, the campaign includes airport displays, radio and television spots—and, of course, billboards.

Through November, look for WSU’s “World Class. Face to Face” billboards at Denny Way and Wall Street, … » More …