Research Focus

Over the past decade, the Institute has broadened its focus to include new areas of research, development, public outreach, and education. Graduate students from all over the nation and the globe now walk the hallways of the Institute or have successfully crossed the stage to receive their degrees in pursuit of becoming better stewards of our natural resources. The Institute’s impacts have been far reaching with over 500 articles written about the Institute or it’s research in newsprint or magazines between 1996 and 2009.

The value of the Institute’s contributions relates directly to the quality of its faculty, staff, and graduate students. To date, almost 200 graduate students have been part of the vision of Caesar Kleberg and earned their degree with the Institute’s support. The research conducted by the Institute’s faculty has earned them the respect and recognition of their scientific peers nationwide.

Institute scientists aim to answer practical research questions that can be applied to current, on-the-ground issues facing ranchers, landowners, managers, policy makers, and conservationists today. The overarching goal of the Institute is to provide answers to wildlife-habitat related questions and share information with the stewards of the land and all who wish to sustain its natural abundance and diversity. 

The Institute has expanded its research efforts to include six primary focus areas: wildlife biology, ecology, and management; habitat management and restoration; wildlife diseases, parasitology, and toxicology; wildlife economics; citizen science; and publications and outreach.