Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture – Mississippi State

Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture – Mississippi State A place for alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends to stay connected.

08/29/2026

🏆🎣 THE FINAL PUSH FOR FIRST!

Mississippi State University students are making waves in the MyCatch by Angler's Atlas Saltwater Surge Competiton, a summer-long college fishing competition held in partnership with the American Fisheries Society. With the competition ending tomorrow, August 30th at 6 p.m., our students are currently battling to hold onto first place in the Southern Division and finish strong!

Throughout the summer, Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture – Mississippi State students and Mississippi State University Extension Service support staff from the Mississippi State University Marine Fisheries Ecology Lab, have logged impressive catches while gaining valuable fishing and fisheries experience along the Gulf Coast:

🔹 Keith Chenier landed a 36-inch cobia. Researchers in the Marine Fisheries Ecology Lab are currently tagging cobia to better understand their movement ecology.

🔹 Ray Paull caught a 20-inch red drum, his first after spending all summer pursuing the species.

🔹 Justin Kim reeled in a rare 21-inch shrimp eel, one of the most unusual catches of the summer.

🔹 Conrad and Adrian landed 18-inch and 16-inch speckled sea trout, while Conrad currently holds the competition's largest speckled trout at 24 inches.

🔹 Adrian Draughn, joined by Danielle and Alena, celebrated his first-ever Gulf flounder at 13 inches.

🔹 Danielle McAree landed a 31-inch red drum that held first place in the rankings for months.

🔹 Adrian Draughn also landed a 42-inch jack crevalle, his lifetime first and a species he'd been chasing all summer.

🔹 Olivia Gathright caught her first red drum, measuring 25 inches.

🔹 For a little comic relief, Ray has become known for catching tiny hardhead catfish, including one measuring just 5 inches. 😂

Good luck to all of our students as they make their final push for the top spot!

📸 Want to see more catches and competition photos? Check out .surge.

🎣🐟🏆

08/28/2026

What a great evening at the 2026 College of Forest Resources, Mississippi State University Welcome Back BBQ, sponsored by Weyerhaeuser! 🎉

From delicious Pig-N-Out BBQ and Mississippi State University’s ice cream to reconnecting with friends and meeting new faces, it was the perfect way to kick off another academic year. 🍽️🍦

It was also great to see so many student organizations represented. We encourage students to get involved, make connections, and find their place within the CFR community. ✨

🎉 Congratulations to Dr. Murry Burgess on her new appointment as Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Wildl...
08/25/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Dr. Murry Burgess on her new appointment as Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture – Mississippi State!

A proud alumna, Dr. Burgess joined Mississippi State University in 2023 as an Assistant Professor with a combined research and teaching appointment. This fall, she transitioned to an Assistant Teaching Professor role, allowing her to dedicate even more of her time to student learning, mentorship, and classroom instruction.

Dr. Burgess currently teaches Applied Ecology and Animal Behavior and is developing a new course, Nature and Society, in the College of Forest Resources, Mississippi State University.

Passionate about teaching, she is excited to focus on mentoring students and helping prepare them for successful careers in natural resources and conservation.

Dr. Burgess earned her B.S. from in 2019 and her Ph.D. from NC State University in 2023. Her research interests include ornithology and urban ecology, with a focus on understanding how urbanization affects wildlife in rapidly growing communities such as Starkville.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Burgess on this exciting new chapter! 👏

🐻 How do you count black bears across an entire state? Not by spotting every bear, but by collecting hair samples for DN...
08/24/2026

🐻 How do you count black bears across an entire state? Not by spotting every bear, but by collecting hair samples for DNA analysis.

Researchers from Mississippi State University's Carnivore and Population Ecology Lab are partnering with the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) to conduct Connecticut's first scientific black bear population survey in more than a decade.

Led by Dr. Dana Morin, professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture – Mississippi State and principal investigator for the study at 's Carnivore and Population Ecology Lab, and Connor Kurz, research associate and project manager, the team is using non-invasive hair traps and advanced genetic techniques to estimate bear abundance and distribution. The findings will help inform future wildlife management, conservation, and human-bear conflict mitigation efforts. 🧬🐻

👇Learn more about the black bear research at the 🔗 in the comments.

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Dan Pilgreen to the College of Forest Resources, Mississippi State University as a Ass...
08/21/2026

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Dan Pilgreen to the College of Forest Resources, Mississippi State University as a Assistant Professor of Human Dimensions of Natural Resources in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture – Mississippi State.

Dr. Pilgreen's work brings a social science lens to natural resource management, helping us understand how people make decisions about and respond to wildlife and fisheries issues.

Originally from North Carolina, Dr. Pilgreen began his career as an environmental educator while earning his B.S. (2015) and M.S. (2018) from East Carolina University. He completed his Ph.D. (2023) at Texas A&M University, where his dissertation examined the psychological barriers that shape responses to environmental risks. He remained at Texas A&M as a Postdoctoral Research Associate, focusing on conservation decision-making on private lands, fisheries planning, and recreation management.

Now settling into for the first time, Dr. Pilgreen looks forward to partnering with agencies, landowners, and communities across the state to help bridge sound science and stakeholder needs while mentoring the next generation of natural resource professionals.

Welcome to the Bulldog family, Dr. Pilgreen! 🐾

🐾Nothing says "welcome back" like seeing campus full of smiling faces again. We're glad to have our students back home a...
08/20/2026

🐾Nothing says "welcome back" like seeing campus full of smiling faces again. We're glad to have our students back home and ready for another exciting semester in . Welcome back, Bulldogs!🐾

🎓 Student & Alumni Spotlight: Danielle McAree 🦈After joining the Mississippi State University Marine Fisheries Ecology ...
08/19/2026

🎓 Student & Alumni Spotlight: Danielle McAree 🦈

After joining the Mississippi State University Marine Fisheries Ecology Program as an intern in 2021, Danielle McAree earned her M.S. in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture – Mississippi State while researching the age, growth, and ecology of tiger sharks in the northern Gulf.

Today, she serves as an Extension Associate with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, and coordinates the program's bottom longline survey, develops Extension publications and outreach materials, and supports a variety of research and Extension initiatives.

"I enjoy working alongside fisheries stakeholders, communicating our research to the public, and seeking solutions that better the health of our marine ecosystems as well as our current and future enjoyment of all they have to offer."

👇 Read more about Danielle's journey in the comments.

📷 Photo and quote courtesy of Mississippi State University.

08/18/2026

A special welcome back message from our faculty and staff.

Have a great semester, Bulldogs!

🎓 Alumni Spotlight: Alena Anderson 🦈After joining the Mississippi State University Marine Fisheries Ecology Program as a...
08/18/2026

🎓 Alumni Spotlight: Alena Anderson 🦈

After joining the Mississippi State University Marine Fisheries Ecology Program as an intern in 2021, Alena Anderson earned her M.S. in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture – Mississippi State while researching the age, growth, and maturity of blacknose sharks in the northern Gulf.

Today, she serves as an Extension Associate with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, helping coordinate fisheries research projects across the Gulf, managing acoustic telemetry studies, assisting with fieldwork, and supporting outreach efforts that connect science with the public.

"My favorite part of the job is combining fieldwork, research, and communication to better understand marine ecosystems and share that knowledge with the communities that depend on them."

👇 Read more about Alena's journey in the comments.

📷 Photo and quote courtesy of Mississippi State University.

🦈 From Interns to Marine ScientistsMeet Alena Anderson and Danielle McAree, WFA alumni and Mississippi State Universit...
08/17/2026

🦈 From Interns to Marine Scientists

Meet Alena Anderson and Danielle McAree, WFA alumni and Mississippi State University Extension Service associates making waves in marine science. Through hands-on research, they are advancing our understanding of shark growth, movement, and ecology while supporting conservation and fisheries management efforts throughout the Gulf Coast.

Their journey from interns in the Mississippi State University Marine Fisheries Ecology Program to marine science professionals highlights the opportunities available through the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture – Mississippi State.

🔗 Learn more about Alena and Danielle's research at the link in the comments.

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