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College of Natural Resources
Forestry and Environmental Resources

FER Explores the Future of Cities at NC State Symposium

February 5, 2026
Dean Myron Floyd stopped by Roland Kays’s exhibit at the 2026 Envisioning Urban Futures Conference, where his research was brought to life by a coyote specimen on loan from the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Dr. Kays presented data illustrating the coyote’s expanding territory across the U.S., sparking a conversation on the challenges of urban management. His work highlighted critical issues such as behavioral adaptations, population control limitations, and human-wildlife conflict cases involving coyote interactions with domesticated dogs on-leash.
Dean Myron Floyd stopped by Roland Kays’s exhibit at the 2026 Envisioning Urban Futures Conference, where his research was brought to life by a coyote specimen on loan from the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. Dr. Kays presented data illustrating the coyote’s expanding territory across the U.S., sparking a conversation on the challenges of urban management. His work highlighted critical issues such as behavioral adaptations, population control limitations, and human-wildlife conflict cases involving coyote interactions with domesticated dogs on-leash.

Written by: Nicole Mihnovets

On Wednesday, January 28th, several members of the Forestry and Environmental Resources Department gathered at the Hunt Library on NC State’s Centennial Campus for the thought-provoking symposium, “Envisioning Urban Futures: More-Than-Human Cities.”

Jointly organized by the Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs and NC State University Libraries, the event challenged attendees to look beyond human-centric design. Through a mix of exhibits, networking, and talks, the symposium explored how we can build resilient, sustainable cities that recognize the agency and value of non-human species from microbes and fungi to urban wildlife.

Our department was represented by Meredith Martin (FOR/NR), Roland Kays (FWCB), Maggio Laquidara and Alejandra Betancourt (FOR grad students), and Nicole Mihnovets (FWCB), who joined a diverse crowd of scientists, designers, and writers to discuss the boundaries of history, ecology, and religion in urban spaces. Also in attendance was Dean Myron Floyd, whose presence underscored the important interdisciplinary connections between the evening’s theme and the range of topics that are addressed by our department and the College of Natural Resources.

A highlight of the evening’s Expo session was Roland Kays’s research poster titled “Coyotes are Here to Stay. What Should We Do?” This work showcased how adaptable predators navigate the built environment, illustrating the event’s core theme of coexistence in a “more-than-human” world.  Maggio, a masters student under the mentorship of Meredith Martin also presented a poster titled “Assessing urban forests: A comprehensive survey of data availability for urban forest management in the Southeastern United States.”

The evening featured insights from distinguished speakers such as Raleigh City Council member Mitchell Silver and applied ecologist Rob Dunn, who discussed compelling examples of human interdependence with the natural world. We left the event inspired by these conversations, with food for thought on how bio-inclusive design in human-dominated landscapes relates to our work within FER and beyond.