In the rural west, geography defines us. I live on the shoulder of Red Owl Mountain, one of the many mountains that make up the Swan Range, which is part of the crazy quilt of mountain ranges that forms the Rocky Mountains in northwest Montana. My cabin lies at the north end of a shoestring valley located between the Swan Range and the Mission Mountains. The Swan River flows through this valley, with the Continental Divide a few miles east, as the eagle flies. The grizzly and wolf population outnumbers the human population here, giving new meaning to coexistence and sustainability.
Inspired by living closely with large predators, I have been studying their conservation and ecology. For my MA in Environmental Studies, I studied wolf ecology and management, with a focus on the work of Aldo Leopold. For my PhD in Forestry and Wildlife, I am studying food web linkages and the factors that can shape plant communities and ecosystems. My research project is on trophic cascades involving wolves, elk, and aspen in Glacier National Park in Montana and in Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada. I am also continuing to research Aldo Leopold’s work in the realm of wildlife ecology.
Other interests include writing and teaching. I have a contract with Island Press and am writing a book, Landscapes of Hope: Trophic Cascades and Biodiversity, to be published in spring 2010. I co-taught a course on Aldo Leopold and Ecosystem Management with William J. Ripple in Fall 2007, and in spring 2008 will be co-teaching a course on Trophic Cascades and Public Policy with K. Norman Johnson. I’m enjoying living in Corvallis where, in addition to all the amazing things I’m learning at OSU and the wonderful community of faculty and students I’ve found here, I’m learning to find wildness in an urban environment.
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