Human and Ecosystem Resiliency and Sustainability Lab

Tom is an ecologist with the National Park Service Upper Columbia Basin Network Inventory and Monitoring Program and holds a courtesy faculty appointment in OSU’s Animal and Rangeland Sciences Department. Tom directs ecological monitoring and supporting research projects in national parks across the western U.S. Tom approaches questions from a biogeographical perspective, with particular interest in the processes of range dynamics – contraction and biological invasion – and uses predictive models to bridge the gap between monitoring and management. Tom is a leader in the effort to develop coordinated bat monitoring across North America, studies American pikas in the context of climate change across national parks, and is also studying long-term dynamics of sagebrush steppe vegetation, rare plants, and invasive weeds in the context of climate, fire, and park management. Tom advises OSU graduate students on applied ecological studies of parks and protected areas. He received a Ph.D. in natural resources from the University of Idaho, an M.S. in biogeography from Oregon State University, and B.S. degrees in wildlife science from Oregon State University and anthropology from Lewis and Clark College.