My name is Miranda Hopper, and I am originally from Covington, Georgia. After graduating from the University of Georgia with a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Science, I moved to Texas to pursue an M.S. in Range and Wildlife Management at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute with Texas A&M University – Kingsville. I am fascinated by the reproductive and population ecology of game species, and I am so grateful to have spent several years working in Texas. My project is broadly focused on reproduction of white-tailed deer in semi-arid environments. I have the privilege of working with our collaborators at the East Foundation to plan and organize their annual fall deer captures, along with fawn captures in the summer season. I have used long-term deer capture data to investigate the influence of seasonal rainfall on offspring quality of white-tailed deer. Additionally, I have the opportunity to use GPS data from collared females in combination with fawn survival data to assess how doe behavior affects fawn survival outcomes.

In August of 2021, I received an Associate’s degree from Angelina College and decided to transfer to SFA  to begin working towards my bachelor’s degree. During my time at SFA, I’ve learned how vast the variety  of vegetation, wildlife, and natural resources truly are in the outdoors. As I continue to study, I hope to  further my education in how to preserve and protect these natural resources for future generations.  

During the summer, I participated in a two-week course studying Natural Resources and Ecology in the  Netherlands. This wild and crazy chapter of my life will then come to a close in December. I hope to see  you all in the field of wildlife conservation!