University of Northern Iowa Tallgrass Prairie Center
I am an ecologist who manages a program that assists Iowa counties with managing their roadsides ecologically. Around 25,000 acres (10,117 hectares) of Iowa county roadsides have been planted with tallgrass prairie plants since the 1980s, providing habitat in a landscape dominated by agriculture, reducing soil erosion, and reducing the spread of weeds. Because all of Iowa falls within the monarch butterfly's flyway, there is interest in creating more habitat that benefits monarchs, as well as other wildlife such as pollinators and birds, and roadsides are one priority area for monarch conservation.
I am interested in using social science techniques such as community-based social marketing to encourage counties in Iowa to adopt conservation behaviors and manage their roadsides ecologically. I studied social-ecological resilience during my PhD program, have authored or co-authored a few papers related to resilience topics, and was a member of the Resilience Alliance Young Scholars.
Key research Interests: community-based social marketing, tallgrass prairie, restoration ecology, social-ecological resilience, county governance
