The Importance of the Capstone Class

 

The capstone class is an essential part of any Bush School student’s master's program. This class brings together a group of students to tackle a real-world problem presented by an external client. During the second year of the program, students dedicate significant time to researching the issue. Our capstone project focused on invasive species management in Texas and the Great Plains for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). This reflection will outline my individual contributions, describe the methodology our team used to collect data, reflect on the challenges we encountered while collecting email addresses for our research, and discuss the implications of our research on how states differ in their funding and management of invasive species. 

 

Overview and Contributions

 

Our capstone project aimed to investigate how different states fund their invasive species management programs. The NRCS needed this information so they could use it to inform future policy changes and update resource distribution. Initially, our research was focused on Texas, but as we expanded our study to include the Great Plains, we divided the task of researching each state. The Great Plains states consisted of Wyoming, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Montana, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas. 

 

My primary contribution to the project stemmed from my background in the wildlife sector, particularly in the area of invasive species management. I served as the Co-Project Manager, which involved delegating tasks to team members and overseeing the progress of our work. For the report, I was responsible for creating a case study on the Carrizo Cane in Texas and researching invasive species management funding in North and South Dakota.

 

Methodology 

 

The central focus of our capstone project was to explore how invasive species management is funded across various states. The NRCS wanted to understand how different organizations collaborate, as they believed it would be easier to track how and where funds were being allocated.the money. We aimed to identify differences in funding allocation and management approaches. We began by conducting research on the funding for invasive species management in Texas and compiling our findings into an interim report. To supplement this report, we gathered contact information for nearly 1,200 agencies involved in invasive species management in Texas, which allowed us to distribute a targeted survey. Once we completed the Texas portion of the project, we shifted our attention to the Great Plains states. We divided the nine states among our team members to ensure we could manage the workload efficiently.

 

Challenges and Lessons Learned

 

Throughout the project, our team faced several challenges, but these obstacles also offered valuable opportunities to enhance our skills in communication, teamwork, and time management. Our research relied heavily on qualitative data collected through a survey that we emailed to every invasive species management agency we could identify. One of the biggest challenges was locating the email addresses of every agency involved in invasive species management across ten states. With each state having between 500 to 1,000 agencies, we were tasked with collecting contact information for roughly 7,000 agencies. We approached this challenge by breaking it into smaller, manageable tasks. In the first semester, our team focused on collecting email addresses for Texas. Once we had completed this task, we divided the remaining states among our team members. We kept the project on track by setting regular checkpoints, which helped ensure that everyone met their individual goals. Despite the complexity of this task, our success was made possible by strong teamwork, open communication, and adhering to a strict schedule. Whenever someone encountered difficulties, they communicated with the team, and there was always someone ready to offer assistance. Through these collaborative efforts, we were able to complete the email collection and distribute the survey across all ten states.

 

Implications 

 

This information will help the NRCS understand the varying approaches to invasive species management, which could inform future policy and resource distribution. It will also assist the NRCS in making decisions on how to allocate funds for invasive species projects and in determining policies that will support effective management across all states. Although our final report is still in progress, the results of our project will provide valuable insights to the NRCS on the funding and management of invasive species programs across 10 different states. Ultimately, these findings will help ensure that resources are used effectively to combat invasive species on a national scale. 

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