ABOUT
Marcel Huijser, PhD
Affiliations
Funders, partners
Road ecologist
Wildlife ecologist
Photographer
406-543-2377
I am an ecologist and have specialized in road ecology since 1995. I want to help make the world a better place through improving human safety, reducing the impacts of roads and traffic on wildlife, and assessing the costs and benefits of mitigation measures aimed at reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions and providing safe crossing opportunities for wildlife. I received my academic training at Wageningen University in my home country, The Netherlands. I have been based in Montana since 2002 but I work across North America and sometimes in South America, Europe, and Asia. I conduct applied research at the crossroads of ecology, engineering and economics. I use this knowledge to formulate practical solutions that are grounded in science.
Curriculum Vitae
Abbreviated (Download PDF)
Full (request by e-mail)
In addition to my research activities I also photograph. My photography has partial overlap with my work as a road ecologist and wildlife biologist; I photograph anything related to highways, wildlife and mitigation measures. However, I also make pure wildlife, nature and travel images. For the latter categories I often use long shutter speeds, movement and other creative techniques. Check out my photo website to get an idea of the type of photography I do.
Western Transportation Institute - Montana State University
I am an employee at the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University (WTI-MSU) in Bozeman (since 2002). Together with my colleagues I work on road ecology projects, mostly in North America. I am also Affiliate Faculty at the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences (LRES) (since 2010), and I have advised Tiffany Holland Allen (MSc) at the Department of Ecology.
MPH:ETC
For certain projects I provide consulting services through my consulting company MPH:ETC.
University of Montana
I am Affiliate Faculty at the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Montana in Missoula (since 2010) and Adjunct Faculty at the Department of Ecosystem and Conservation Sciences (DECS) of the College of Forestry and Conservation (since 2016). I have advised Jeremiah Purdum, Hayley Connolly-Newman, Elizabeth Fairbank, and Adam Andis (all MSc).
University of São Paulo
I am a visiting professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil (since 2014). Together with Dr. Katia Ferraz, I taught a road ecology course (8 credits, 120 hours) at the Department of Forest Sciences (Departamento de Ciências Florestais) at the Escola Superior de Agricultura "Luiz de Queiroz" (ESALQ), Piracicaba campus of the University of São Paulo. I work with Dr. Katia Ferraz and others at the Wildlife Ecology, Management and Conservation Lab (LEMaC). I currently advise Fernanda Abra (PhD student) and Camylla Silva Pereira (MSc student).
I rarely work alone. Many of the projects I work on require input from multiple disciplines. Funding organizations set the objectives and often have access to specific data or knowledge that is essential to a project. Funders include transportation, natural resource management, and science agencies on a national level (e.g. Federal Highway Administration, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Ministry of Higher Education, Brazil (CAPES), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), Center for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation in Cold Climates (CESTiCC)). Funders at the state or provincial level include Departments of Transportation in Alaska, California, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming) and natural resource management agencies (e.g. Wyoming Game and Fish Department). Other funders are National or provincial parks (e.g. Kootenay National Park in Canada, Jasper National Park and Mount Robson Provincial Park in Canada), counties (e.g. Blaine County in Idaho, Teton County in Wyoming), Native American Tribes (e.g. Kootenai Tribe of Idaho), non-governmental organizations and foundations (e.g. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) administered by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y)), Wilburforce Foundation, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, Friends of the Desert Mountains, The Nature Conservancy), and the private sector (e.g. Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia managed by Rio Tinto). The projects typically relate to ecology, engineering and economics. In some cases we need more complex spatial or statistical analyses, or species specific knowledge and experience. I tailor a team to the needs of a project. Team members often include colleagues from the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University, other academic institutions, and researchers and consultants from the private sector. Examples of organizations I have partnered with to carry out the work include the Wildlife Program of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), Eco-resolutions, LLC, Eco-Kare International in Canada, ICF International, Marshall University, Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, Rocky Mountain Wild, University of São Paulo in Brazil, ViaFauna in Brazil, and Wageningen Environmental Research (Alterra) at Wageningen University and Research in The Netherlands. See my list of publications to for further information on funders and project partners.