CV

Utah State University
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) – Ecology
started Aug 2024

University of British Columbia
Master of Science (MSc) – Forestry
May 2019 – May 2022
Honors designation (top 10% of UBC theses)
Thesis: “Right place, right time: large mammal spatiotemporal trends in and around a heavily-recreated protected area“

University of Colorado
Bachelor of Arts (BA) – Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
August 2014 – May 2018
Honors: magna cum laude
Thesis: “Quantitative Conservation of the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus): Implications of Monitoring and Modeling the Yellowstone Wolves“
Minor: Philosophy

Prugh, L. R., Kreling, S. E., Ganz, T. R., Cunningham, C. X., Hentati, Y., Sullender, B., Breen, C. M., & Procko M. (in press). Chapter 10: Cascading effects of humans on trophic dynamics. In R. J. Moll & R. Montgomery (Eds.), Apex Predators in the Anthropocene. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K.

Granados, A., Beirne, C., Kearney, S., Sun, C., Hughes, C., Marion, S., Loosen, A., Hubbs, A., Farr, D., Fennell, M., Procko, M., Percy, M., Paczkowski, J., Hoffman, K., Kohlhardt, R., Whittington, J., Curry, B., & Burton, A. C. (in review). Evaluating commonly used tools to quantify human activity in protected areas for park management. Submitted to People and Nature March 27, 2025.

MacNulty, D., Cooper, D., Procko, M., & Clark-Wolf, T.J. (2025). Flawed analysis invalidates claim of a strong Yellowstone trophic cascade after wolf reintroduction: A comment on Ripple et al. (2025). Global Ecology and Conservation, 63, e03899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2025.e03899

Procko, M., Winder, S. G., Wood, S. A., Sevigny, M., Collins, D. G., Alves, M., & L. R. Prugh. (2024). Quantifying impacts of recreation on elk (Cervus canadensis) using novel modeling approaches. Ecosphere, 15(6). https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4873

Burton, A. C., Beirne, C., Gaynor, K., Sun, C., Granados, A., Allen, M. L., Alston, J. M., Alvarenga, G. C., Álvarez Claderón, F. S., Amir, Z., Anhalt-Depies, C., Appel, C., Arroyo-Arce, S., Babic, N. L., Balme, G., Bar-Massada, A., Barcelos, D., […] Procko, M., […] Kays., R. (2024). Mammal responses to global changes in human activity vary by trophic group and landscape. Nature Ecology & Evolution, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02363-2

Granados, A., Sun, C., Fisher, J. T., Ladle, A., Dawe, K., Beirne, C.; Boyce, M., Chow, E., Fennell, M., Heim, N., Klees van Bommel, J., Naidoo, R., Procko, M., Stewart, F., & A. C. Burton. (2023). Mammalian predator and prey responses to recreation and land use across multiple scales provide limited support for the human shield hypothesis. Ecology & Evolution, 13, e10464. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10464

Procko, M., Naidoo, R., LeMay, V. & A. C. Burton. (2023). Human presence and infrastructure impact wildlife nocturnality differently across an assemblage of mammalian species. PLoS ONE 18(5): e0286131. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286131

Burton, A. C., Beirne, C., Sun, C., Granados, A., Procko, M., Chen, C., Fennell, M., Constantinou, A., Colton, C., Tjaden-McClement, K., Fisher, J. T., & J. Burgar. (2022). Behavioural “bycatch” from camera trap surveys yields insights on prey responses to human-mediated predation risk. Ecology and Evolution, e9108 https://doi.org/10.22541/au.164691928.81214153/v1 

Procko, M., Naidoo, R., LeMay, V. & A. C. Burton. (2022). Human impacts on mammals in and around a protected area before, during, and after COVID-19 lockdowns. Conservation Science and Practice, e12743.
 https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.12743

Procko, M. (2022). Right place, right time: large mammal spatiotemporal trends in and around a heavily recreated protected area. University of British Columbia, Theses and Dissertations. Defended March 14, 2022, passed with honours. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/80993 

Custode, L., Guzzo, M., Bush, N., Ewing, C., Procko, M., Knight, S., Rousseau-Clair, M., Norris, R. (2021). Canadian private protected areas are located in regions of higher vertebrate species richness than government protected areas. FACETS, Vol. 6, January 2021. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2020-0108 

Procko, M. (2019). Quantitative Conservation of the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus): Implications of Monitoring and Modeling the Yellowstone Wolves. University of Colorado, Undergraduate Honors Theses. https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/4b29b6474 

Graduate Research Fellow
Utah State University – Clark-Wolf Lab and MacNulty Lab
August 2024 – Present
Researching the impacts of wolf reintroduction on wildlife and vegetation populations in Yellowstone National Park, specifically investigating trophic cascades (wolf-elk-aspen) in the context of other species (e.g., bison, grizzly bear, and cougar) and climate change.

Wolf Technician
Yellowstone Forever – Yellowstone Wolf Project
November 2024 – December 2024
One month intensive field season tracking wolves using radio collar telemetry, monitoring daily activities and hunting patterns, and visiting GPS collar clusters for kill site investigation.

Wildlife Ecologist
The Tulalip Tribes of Washington
July 2023 – December 2024
Technical expert collaborating on wildlife and recreation management projects with Washington DNR, Washington State Parks, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, US Forest Service, and the Washington State Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs. Also helped with beaver relocation efforts, elk population monitoring, mountain goat conservation, camera trapping, and grant writing.

Research Scientist
University of Washington – Prugh Lab
May 2022 – June 2023
In partnership with Washington DNR and the Tulalip Tribes, researched elk responses to recreation throughout the North Rainier elk herd range, including study design, deployment and maintenance of a camera trap grid, supervising and hiring assistants, processing camera trap photos with artificial intelligence, data management and analysis, and technical write-ups.

Graduate Research Assistant
University of British Columbia – Wildlife Coexistence Lab
May 2019 – May 2022
Researched mammal community responses to recreation and forest harvest in protected areas and adjacent landscapes, including study design, maintenance of a camera trap grid, supervising and hiring assistants, processing camera trap photos with artificial intelligence, data management and analysis, and technical write-ups.

Conservation Intern
British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy (BC Parks)
May 2021 – September 2021
Communicated scientific findings to a lay audience, including species distribution mapping, recreation management recommendations, exploration of thresholds of recreation at which species habitat use may become negatively impacted.

Field Research Technician
Colorado Parks & Wildlife
November 2018 – January 2019
Assisted as a field research technician on a long-term cougar collaring program, checking camera traps and baited carcasses for evidence of cougar activity.

Field Research Technician
University of Colorado, Boulder
June 2017 – July 2017
Surveyed post-fire forest regeneration in the Blue Mountains of Oregon to acquire data for a PhD candidate’s dissertation. This included camping and backpacking in remote locations for long periods of time, species identification, transects, percent cover plots, and various other forest measurement protocols.

Graduate Teaching Assistant
Utah State University
January 2025 – May 2025
Responsible for teaching the lab section of WILD 3810: Wildlife Population Ecology. Course content included capture mark recapture, density dependence, modelling unstructured and structured populations, life tables, matrix models, metapopulation models, and competition/consumer-resource dynamics (Lotka-Volterra).

Graduate Teaching Assistant (four positions)
University of British Columbia
September 2019 – October 2021
I helped TA three different courses over four semesters at UBC: Forest Wildlife Ecology and Management (FRST395; 2 semesters), Human-Wildlife Conflict (APBI-CONS495), and Integrated Field Methods (CONS451). Each required different areas of expertise, but all contributed equally to shaping my abilities as an instructor. For more information on courses, please see “teaching“.

Graduate Academic Assistant
University of British Columbia
May 2020 – March 2021
To assist professors and lecturers with transitioning to online learning, UBC created Graduate Academic Assistantship positions for graduate students to help develop online curricula, and translate in-person materials to a virtual format. More information on specific roles can be found in “teaching“.

Learning Assistant
University of Colorado
January 2018 – May 2018
Akin to teaching assistants, learning assistants are undergraduate students who have taken the course previously, and help facilitate an interactive classroom space by initiating and guiding discussions, working one-on-one with students, and being available for additional assistance in an office-hours setting.

Procko, M. (2025, Apr. 25). Getting Involved with Wildlife Ecology and Management. [Guest lecture]. Mountain Crest High School, Hyrum, UT, United States.

Procko, M. (2025, Mar. 21). Unweaving the web: Quantifying trophic dynamics in the world’s first national park. [Symposium presentation]. 2025 Wildland Resources Graduate Student Symposium, Logan, UT, United States.

Procko, M. (2024, May 29). Revisiting and Revamping a Framework for Managing Recreation and Natural Resources on Public Lands. [Workshop presentation]. Tribal-State Technical Working Group. Tulalip Tribes, Tulalip, WA, United States.

Procko, M. (2024, Mar. 25). Wildlife Ecology and Management from a US Tribal Government Perspective. [Guest lecture]. Wildlife Ecology and Management (RENR 3320), British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, BC, Canada.

Procko, M. (2024, Feb. 13). A Science-Based Framework for Improving Recreation and Wildlife Management. [Workshop presentation]. Tribal-State Technical Working Group. Tulalip Tribes, Tulalip, WA, United States.

Procko, M. (2023, Sept. 1). On-the-edge image classification for human-wildlife conflict mitigation. [Workshop presentation]. Summer Workshop on Computer Vision Methods for Ecology. California Institute of Technology (CalTech) Resnick Sustainability Institute, Pasadena, CA, United States.

Procko, M. (2023, Apr. 26). Spatiotemporal responses of elk to recreation in the West Cascades. [Conference presentation]. The Washington Chapter of the Wildlife Society Joint Annual Meeting, Grand Mound, WA, United States.

Procko, M. (2023, Feb. 17). Leveraging Conservation Technology to Monitor Human Impacts on Wildlife. [Guest lecture]. Wildlife in the Modern World (ESRM 150), The University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.

Procko, M. (2022, Dec. 14). Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Wildlife and Recreation in Golden Ears Provincial Park, BC. [Conference presentation]. The British Columbia Protected Areas Recreation Forum, Victoria, BC, Canada.

Procko, M., Naidoo, R., LeMay, V. & A. C. Burton. (2022, Nov. 9). Human impacts on mammals in and around protected areas before, during, and after COVID-19 lockdowns [Conference presentation]. The Wildlife Society Annual Conference, Spokane, WA, United States.

Procko, M. (2022, Oct. 14). Sharing Space and Time: Striking a Balance Between Wildlife and Recreation. [Guest lecture]. Wildlife in the Modern World (ESRM 150), The University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.

Procko, M. (2022, Oct. 13). Sharing Space and Time: Striking a Balance Between Wildlife and Recreation. [Invited talk]. Washington Fish and Wildlife Ecology Seminar Series, Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Online.

Procko, M. (2022, June 8). Human impacts on mammals in and around protected areas before, during, and after COVID-19 lockdowns. [Invited talk]. The Alberta Chapter of The Wildlife Society Recreation Impacts Webinar, Online.

Procko, M. (2022, Jan. 24). Wildlife and Recreation in Golden Ears Provincial Park, BC. [Guest lecture]. Parks and Recreation Management (RENR 4215), British Columbia Institute of Technology, BC, Canada.

Procko, M. (2021, Oct. 7). Science to Policy: Informing Wildlife and Recreation Management in Golden Ears Provincial Park, BC. [Invited talk]. The University of British Columbia Biodiversity Legendary Internal Seminar Series (BLISS), Online.

Procko, M. (2021, Mar. 25). Let’s Talk About Camera Trapping. [Invited talk]. The University of British Columbia Section of The Wildlife Society, Online.

Procko, M. (2019, Aug. 29). Wildlife Cameras. [Guest lecture]. Foundational Field School (FRST 350), University of British Columbia, BC, Canada.

Sigma Xi – Scientific Research Honor Society Member
Elected January 2024
Validation

Wilderness First Responder – Desert Mountain Medicine
Expires November 2028
Validation

Wildlife Chemical Immobilization – Global Wildlife Resources
Completed April 2023
Validation

Data Analyst Professional Certification – IBM Corporation
Completed February 2023
Validation

Indigenous Awareness – Indigenous Corporate Training, Inc.
Completed May 2021
Validation

Indigenous Canada – University of Alberta
Completed November 2020
Validation

Utah State University Presidential Doctoral Research Fellowship (2024)

United States Department of the Interior – Bureau of Indian Affairs Tribal Climate Resilience Grant (2024)

University of British Columbia Graduate COVID Program Delay Tuition Award (2021)

University of British Columbia Faculty of Forestry International Student COVID Relief Scholarship (2021)

University of British Columbia Forestry Indigenous Community Research SEED Fund Grant (2020)

University of British Columbia Forestry Internal Award – Mary and David Macaree Fellowship (2020)

University of British Columbia Forestry Internal Award – Braham G. Griffith Memorial Scholarship in Forest Resources Management (2020)

University of British Columbia International Tuition Award (2019-2021)

University of British Columbia Forestry Graduate Award (2019, 2020)

University of Colorado College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s List (2017, 2018)

University of Colorado Esteemed Scholar’s Award – Hale Scholarship (2014-2017)

University of Colorado Moehrke Educational Advancement Scholarship (2015-2017)

University of Colorado Craig Rubenstein Memorial Scholarship (2015)

University of Colorado Laverne Noyes Scholarship (2015)

Smith, B. (Mar. 28, 2024). What Computer Vision Can Tell Us About the Natural World. Caltech Magazine. Interview. Written by Brian Smith.

Kennedy, G. (Apr. 25, 2022). The secret lives of the Fraser Valley’s wild cats. Fraser Valley Current. Interview. Written by Grace Kennedy.

Procko, M. (Oct. 27, 2021). Balancing Recreation and Wildlife in Protected Areas. WildCAM Network, Blog.

Shephert, E. (Sept. 30, 2021). 24/7 cameras capture ‘fat bears’ in Lower Mainland parks (PHOTOS) Vancouver Is Awesome, September 30, 2021. Interview. Written by Elana Shephert.

Procko, M. (2021). Coexistence & Camera Traps: Interactions between wildlife and anthropogenic pressures using camera traps. British Columbia Chapter of the Wildlife Society, Fall 2021 Newsletter (pp. 6-7).