Kris J. Hundertmark

Kris Hundertmark recently retired from a career as a wildlife manager, researcher, and educator that began in the School of Forest Resources at Penn State. In his 37-year career, Kris established himself as an authority on the biology and management of moose as well as a conservation geneticist working in ecosystems as diverse as the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and the boreal forests and tundra of the Arctic. He enrolled as a Forest Science major at Penn State with a specialization in wildlife biology. While at Penn State, Kris was an active member of the student chapter of The Wildlife Society and Xi Sigma Pi, the forestry honorary, and was elected as Forester (president) of the latter group during his senior year.

Kris earned an M.S. in Wildlife Science at Oregon State University, studying population dynamics of Nuttall’s cottontails in the juniper-sage scablands of central Oregon, and then moved to Alaska in 1981 and begin his professional career with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G). He worked on research and management projects in southeastern Alaska through 1987. From 1988 to 2002, Kris worked as a research wildlife biologist and then Senior Scientist at ADF&G’s Kenai Moose Research Center, a recipient of the Group Achievement Award by The Wildlife Society in 1992 for their physiological ecology research. Kris’ research led to the development of what is now a preferred field technique for noninvasive estimation of nutritional condition in multiple ungulate species. Other notable accomplishments included coauthoring a seminal paper on moose reproductive biology, modeling the effects of antler size-based harvest on the genetics of moose antler size and configuration, and contributing a chapter on moose movement ecology to the book, “Ecology and Management of the North American Moose,” which received the Best Edited Book Award from The Wildlife Society in 1998.

With an interest in using genetics as a wildlife management tool, Kris enrolled as a doctoral student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) while continuing his work for ADF&G. His dissertation examined genetic variation of moose worldwide. Kris retired after 20 years with ADF&G and was hired as a conservation geneticist by the Zoological Society of London to work in Saudi Arabia, investigating the genetics of endangered Arabian megafauna. He conducted research on sand and mountain gazelles, generating phylogenies to clarify historically muddled taxonomy as a first step toward reintroductions. Other focal species included Arabian oryx, Nubian ibex, Arabian leopard, and Arabian tahr. Unfortunately, Kris was forced to leave in 2005 as Saudi Arabia experienced increased civil unrest associated with the second Gulf War.

Returning to Alaska, Kris was hired as an assistant professor of wildlife ecology with a joint appointment in the Institute of Arctic Biology and the Department of Biology and Wildlife at UAF. He was promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure in 2010. In 14 years at UAF, Kris taught Principles of Wildlife Management, Wildlife Management Techniques, and two popular senior/graduate-level elective courses in conservation genetics and large-mammal ecology. Kris was elected by his faculty peers to serve for 2.5 years as Chair of UAF’s Wildlife Biology and Conservation Program and two years as Chair of the Department of Biology and Wildlife. UAF recognized Kris’ achievements by awarding him emeritus status upon his retirement in 2019.

Research in Kris’s laboratory had two primary objectives: 1) solving wildlife management problems in Alaska using genetic approaches and 2) describing historic population processes in northern mammals in relation to climate change, again using genetic data. He supervised 5 PhD students, 8 MS students, and served on committees for 30 other students. He also encouraged undergraduate research in his lab, with undergraduate authors on some publications.

Kris’ professional recognition includes the Distinguished Moose Biologist Award in 2007 for “outstanding contributions to the biology and management of moose,” the highest honor given by the North American Moose Conference, an international group of biologists. In 2010 Kris was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship by the European Commission for a 6-month residency with the Mammal Research Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Białowieza, Poland, where he mentored local graduate students and collaborated with Polish colleagues on a study of European moose phylogeography. In 2013 he was awarded a three-month residency as a visiting professor with the Laboratory of Alpine Ecology at Joseph Fourier University in Grenoble, France. In 2018 he was nominated and elected as a professional member of The Boone and Crockett Club, advising one of this nation’s foremost non-governmental organizations advocating for science-based wildlife conservation policy and outreach.

Kris served as associate editor for two wildlife ecology journals and as a reviewer of proposals to the National Science Foundation and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. He was a member of the Antelope Specialists Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and in 2016 he wrote the species account for moose in the IUCN List of Threatened Species. He served 10 years on the Executive Committee of the Alaska Chapter of The Wildlife Society, including two years as president.

Kris met his best friend and wife of 39 years, Gretchen, while they were wildlife students at Oregon State. She introduced him to her home state of Alaska, which was the most significant event influencing his career path. They raised two children (and many dogs and cats), welcomed a grandchild, and traveled the United States and the world together before Gretchen’s untimely passing in 2021. Kris now lives in Arizona, spending time with his family and getting to know the Sonoran Desert.
                                                                                                                                                                                 March 2024