A University of Idaho-led team next month will start studying how drought and wolves impact rangeland and the people who live and raise livestock there.
A $1.6 million National Science Foundation grant is funding the five-year project.
The Capital Press reports researchers will study six sites in Idaho and Oregon, each equipped with 50 cameras.
The team aims to find out more about how drought affects vegetation and in turn livestock, deer, elk and their interactions with predators.
Lead investigator Sophie Gilbert, a UI assistant professor of wildlife ecology and management, said the study will examine the interconnectedness of humans, plants and animals on rangeland in the face of a changing climate and other stressors.
Cameras will be placed in late spring and early summer. Sites will be selected based in part on different levels of drought and wolf activity.
