Prairie Wildlife Research Who We Are

Dedicated to Protecting Prairie Wildlife Through Science and Stewardship

Our Mission

Prairie Wildlife Research was established in 2001 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to research and conserve wildlife species of the prairie and their associated habitats. PWR works throughout the Great Plains with federal and state agencies, universities, private landowners, and other non-governmental organizations to conduct timely, economical, and quality studies and projects that contribute to sound management decisions. PWR’s focus includes all wildlife species inhabiting the prairie. Projects include surveys, reintroductions of native species, habitat enhancement projects, and working with others to resolve wildlife-related issues.

Our Team

What We Do

Learn more about the Prairie Wildlife Research team and their black-footed ferret studies and services

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Passionate Experts Committed to Prairie Conservation

Our Research Team

Travis of the Prairie Wildlife Research team studies a black-footed ferret

Travis Livieri Executive Director and Wildlife Biologist

Travis Livieri, Executive Director and Wildlife Biologist, founded Prairie Wildlife Research in 2001. He has worked with prairie dogs and black-footed ferrets since 1995 and traveled throughout the Great Plains to conserve and research prairie species.

Travis earned his B.S. degree in Biology and Wildlife and M.S. degree in Natural Resources with wildlife emphasis from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and Ph.D. in Zoology from Colorado State University. His graduate work investigated black-footed ferrets home ranges and survival related to plague. Over the past 20 years he has published dozens of research papers, book chapters, and articles on various aspects of black-footed ferrets, prairie dogs, and plague. Travis has been recognized with several awards from agencies and organizations, including US Forest Service National Grasslands Prairie Partner (2007), Regional Forester Partner of the Year (2009), The Wildlife Society Conservation Education (2012), and UW-Stevens Point Distinguished Alumnus (2018). He was featured in Jane Goodall’s Hope for Animals (2009) and has appeared in multiple news, radio, and documentary stories, including the regional Emmy-award winning Expeditions with Patrick McMillan. Travis is a member of several professional societies, including The Wildlife Society, the American Society of Mammalogists, and the Black-Footed Ferret Recovery Implementation Team (past chair and member of Conservation Subcommittee, member of Executive Committee)

Team member Nichole of Prairie Wildlife Research vaccinates a black-footed ferret in the field

Nicole Mittman Wildlife Technician

Nicole graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in wildlife biology. She has held various seasonal positions since then, with a primary focus on grasslands/sagebrush steppe species...

Team member Skyla of Prairie Wildlife Research

Skyla Fay Board Member

Skyla is a Certified Veterinary Technician with decades of experience caring for domestic ferrets and other animals. She serves as the Black-Footed Ferret Committee Director for the American Ferret Association, an organization...

that promotes the domestic ferret (descended from European ferrets), a close cousin of the black-footed ferret (the only ferret species native to North America). Domestic ferret enthusiasts are some of the greatest supporters of black-footed ferret recovery. Skyla brings a unique and real-world perspective to Prairie Wildlife Research, participating in field activities as well as giving attention to detail for non-profit operations. Her research interests are in improving digestive health in ferrets (both domestic and black-footed)

Team member Paul of Prairie Wildlife Research facilitates the transfer and location of a black-footed-ferret

Paul Marinari Board Member

Paul has worked with black-footed ferrets since 1990, with the first reintroductions in Wyoming and South Dakota, and then shifting to captive breeding from 1996-2024. He earned a BS degree from University of Delaware...

and did his MS graduate work at University of Wyoming on black-footed ferrets. He worked for multiple federal agencies and from 1996-2012 was the manager of the National Black-Footed Ferret Conservation Center, which is the nucleus of the captive breeding program. Paul’s dedication and attention to detail propelled the black-footed ferret recovery program forward with advancements in captive breeding, nutrition, genetics, cloning, and reintroduction. Moving to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Virginia, he continued his work with black-footed ferrets and was able to expand his role in advising other captive breeding/reintroduction programs across the world. In 2018 he was recognized as a Recovery Champion by the US Fish and Wildlife Service for his extensive contributions to black-footed ferret recovery. Paul has facilitated dozens of research projects and published papers on black-footed ferret captive breeding and health issues.

Past Board Members

Eric M. Anderson, PhD

Martin Grenier, MS

Jane Perry

Wally Van Sickle, MS