LAS Spring Small Grants Awards Announced

 Laramie Audubon Spring 2026 Small Grants program was a great success with a total

of seven grant proposals being submitted. Our grants committee selected one research

and one out research proposal for our present round of funding.

Collin M. Porter was the recipient of the 2026 Spring Laramie Audubon research grant.

Collin is a Ph.D. Student in the Department of Zoology and Physiology & Program in

Ecology and Evolution, at the University of Wyoming. His research topic is “Migration,

seasonal movement, and climate adaptation of Intermountain West Graycrowned Rosy-

Finches (Leucosticte tephrocotis tephrocotis)”. Collin states “Alpine ecosystems are

sensitive to the effects of climate change and habitat loss, which threaten biodiversity

and ecological stability. Warming temperatures and disturbances to mountaintop

snowpack pose a particular challenge for high-elevation species. In response to climate

warming, upward range shifts are predicted for many alpine bird species”. As the Rosy-

finch is the highest elevation nesting songbird with little known about its “migratory

patterns and site fidelity among breeding and wintering populations”. “Uncovering the

precise movement trajectories and elevational shifts undertaken by alpine breeders

throughout the full annual cycle is critical for assessing how populations will respond to

predicted climate change effects when paired with genomic divergence among distinct

populations.”

Collin will trap 42 individuals from three distinct wintering populations and after taking

genomic samples from each bird a transmitter will be attached to track the birds during

his multiyear research. He expects “data will reveal distinct migratory routes and

stopover sites for each wintering population and link breeding and wintering sites.

Specifically, we predict that populations will exhibit ‘chain migration associated with

latitude, wherein the southernmost wintering populations (e.g., in the Sandia Mountains

of NM) will migrate to the southernmost portion of the breeding range (e.g., the Northern

Rocky Mountains of southern Canada) while more northern wintering populations (e.g.,

in the Bighorn Mountains of WY) will migrate to northern breeding sites (e.g., the Brooks

Range of Alaska”. In addition, numerous other topics will be studied including

elevational shift due to climate change.

The 2026 Spring Laramie Audubon outreach grant recipient was submitted by Michelle

Weschler. The grant titled “Junior Entomologist Program: Understanding and

challenging perceptions of insects to foster environmental stewardship in children”.

Michelle is an

Assistant Research Scientist, Wyoming Natural Diversity Database (WYNDD), Universi

ty of Wyoming.

The grant will continue the work of Nina Crawford, PhD student at the University of

Wyoming, who is working At Jewel Cave east of New Castle, Wyoming in the Black Hills

of South Dakota. Crawford has been studying how environmental and anthropogenic

influences affect insect pollinators in the area of the Black Hills. The study also looks at

how local bird populations interact with the insect populations.

The outreach grant will help fund a workbook for the Junior Entomologist program that

will “prompt participants to consider their perception of insects, teach them about

various insects and their ‘jobs’ in the environment, and reinforce learning by asking

them to draw an insect and answer questions about what they learned.” The booklet will

accompany displays of pinned insects that can be found in the Black Hills ecosystems

and a fact sheet about the insects on display. “With consent from participants, the

drawings will then be incorporated into an art exhibition taking place within the Berry

Biodiversity Center on the University of Wyoming campus this fall focused on

invertebrate conservation.”

The Laramie Audubon Small Grants committee has previously awarded up to four

grants per year divided between two (spring and fall) grant submission periods. As

Laramie Audubon has added additional projects or opportunities to our members and

the greater public the limited funds of our organization have been under strain. Our

board of directors have decided to reduce the number of grants dispersed by half. The

Small Grants committee has awarded two grants during our Spring award period, we

will not be accepting grant submittals for the Fall 2026 Small Grant period.