Last updated: July 15, 2024
Article
2024 Rocky Mountain National Park Stewardship Award Presented to Dr. Erin Muths
Rocky Mountain National Park is pleased to announce the winner of the 2024 Stewardship Award. This award recognizes individuals who have made long-lasting, impactful, and significant contributions to helping resolve critical management questions or challenges while demonstrating a commitment to the National Park Service mission and core values.
NPS/A. Andreas
NPS Photo
Dr. Erin Muths
Dr. Erin Muths has conducted a substantial amount of important research in Rocky Mountain National Park since the late 1990s, contributing significantly to amphibian conservation and management. For nearly 30 years, the work of Dr. Muths, her students, and collaborators at the U.S. Geological Survey has driven our fundamental understanding of amphibian populations, demographics, occupancy, disease, and identified long-term trends critical for successful conservation amidst continual change.
Dr. Muths’ work is exemplary in demonstrating the value of science for guiding management decisions and underpins current amphibian management in the park and the greater Rocky Mountain region. In 2000, Dr. Muths helped to establish the Department of the Interior’s Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) – a national program for amphibian monitoring, research, and conservation to address growing concerns over declines in amphibian populations around the world. In addition to monitoring efforts in and around the park, she works closely and collaboratively with the park’s Resource Stewardship Division to design and implement amphibian conservation strategies, including boreal toad reintroductions. Furthermore, Dr. Muths currently serves on the larger, multi-agency Boreal Toad Conservation Team dedicated to the management and protection of the Boreal Toad in the Southern Rocky Mountains.
NPS Photo
Over the years Dr. Muths has contributed many hours working in partnership with a variety of interagency scientists and managers, providing forward-looking, practical, and insightful guidance. She has participated in a variety of regional meetings, workshops, and review panels, provided presentations to park staff and the public, and shared her work through many reports and publications.
In addition to conducting rigorous science and assisting the park with science-based management, Dr. Muths has made significant contributions to fostering the next generation of park scientists and stewards. Through her mentorship of graduate and undergraduate students, Dr. Muths has ensured her legacy of rigorous and applied scientific research will continue to support amphibian conservation so that these species persist for the enjoyment of current and future generations.
We are pleased to present Erin with this Stewardship Award in recognition of her substantial contribution and commitment to the mission of Rocky Mountain National Park.