The U.S. Geological Survey Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit, also known as the Coop Unit, has been part of the wildlife and fisheries research program even longer than the LSU AgCenter has been its own separate campus of the LSU system. In 1962, officials from the federal government, the state and LSU signed an agreement to cooperate on wildlife research followed by a similar agreement for fishery research in 1963. Since then, these agreements have changed as has the federal bureaucracy and the AgCenter. Today, the U.S. Geological Survey, a division of the U.S. Department of Interior, and the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries are the cooperators. The Coop Unit includes three researchers who each teach a course and supervise graduate students. They are Fred Bryan, Megan La Peyre and Alan D. Afton. The Coop Unit expands the research capability of the AgCenter and helps it mesh with and guide state and national research goals. In addition to teaching and research, the faculty in the unit also provide technical services and short courses for the state. Louisiana is one of 40 states with this cooperative arrangement.
Linda Foster Benedict
(This article appeared in the spring 2002 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.) |