MSEM Professor and Student Head to Laos in January

Assistant Professor Gretchen Coffman received $20K from the National Geographic Society to help document and restore the critically endangered Chinese Swamp Cypress population in Central Laos. An international team of scientists are going on the expedition in January. The team will locate living stands of cypress within a national protected area in Laos and collect seeds to propagate the trees and restore wetland ecosystems. The team will work with wildlife protection authorities and villagers to educate them about the value of conserving these trees for their community. MSEM student Robin Hunter is joining the group and will be in charge of GIS data collection and conducting a GIS habitat model that will help the research team locate more cypress and identify locations to restore these populations.