Contact: Don Alper, director, WWU Border Policy Research Institute, (360) 650-4675, or don.alper@wwu.edu.

BELLINGHAM – Western Washington University’s Border Policy Research Institute (BPRI) has awarded a pair of grants to WWU faculty researching border-related issues.

Troy Abel, associate professor of Environmental Studies, was awarded a $10,700 grant from the BPRI to analyze obstacles to trans-boundary wildlife conservation and management in the greater North Cascades. 

The project will result in several policy considerations.  The interview and survey work will allow policy stakeholders to identify the key barriers to collaboration.  This will inform their efforts to establish the cooperative arrangements to conserve and manage wildlife resources that don’t recognize political borders. 

In addition, these recommendations will contribute to efforts at reforming our existing policies that hinder regional collaboration.  Finally, this case study will also inform the broader move towards ecosystem management and the policies and practice that foster successful collaboration.

Bidisha Biswas, associate professor of Political Science, was awarded a $10,222 grant from the BPRI to study continuity and change in Canada-U.S. border security cooperation since 9/11. 

The focus of the project is to examine how challenges such as concerns about radicalized individuals and groups in Canada have affected the security environment, which is characterized by increasing interdependence and collaboration.  From a policy perspective, the research is expected to yield valuable insights into how bilateral policies may have altered (or remained the same) as both countries have responded to the Global War on Terrorism.

For more information on the research of Troy Abel or Bidisha Biswas, contact the WWU Office of University Communications at (360) 650-3350; for more information about the BPRI, contact Don Alper at (360) 650-4675.

printer friendly