Science Team
BLM's Western Oregon Plan Revisions

A list of the members of the Science Team, along with their credentials, is provided below.

Sarah Crim - Forest Economist/Analyst, U. S. Forest Service
Area of Science Review: Timber harvest scheduling, growth and yield modeling
Sarah works in the U.S. Forest Service Regional Office in Portland. She has a Ph.D. in Forest Management from the Department of Forestry at Colorado State University and an extensive background in timber harvest scheduling models. She provided guidance for Forest Service planning teams on development and use of timber harvest scheduling models during the forest planning effort prior to the Northwest Forest Plan, and helped develop the timber harvest estimates for National Forests as part of the FEMAT team.  Sarah works extensively with National Forests on the NEPA process associated with timber sales, as well as on any litigation that arises.

Doug Drake - Aquatic Biologist, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Area of Science Review: Water quality and monitoring
Doug has worked for the last 18 years in the Watershed Assessment Section of the Laboratory Division at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. His most recent projects relevant to the BLM Science Team include: developing RIVPACS predictive model for state-wide stream assessment using macroinvertebrates; developing a draft wadeable stream sediment benchmark for use in Impaired Waters report (303-d listing process); team leader for data analysis and stressor tool development using probabilistic and targeted sampling approaches; serving on Oregon DEQ Numeric Biological Criteria Technical Advisory Committee; and serving on EPA National Sediment Criteria Workgroup.

Joan Hagar - Wildlife Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Area of Science Review: Wildlife ecology
Joan works at the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center in Corvallis, Oregon. She has an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology from the Department of Forest Science at Oregon State University. In doing the research for both of these degrees, Joan investigated wildlife-habitat relationships in managed forests, specifically addressing the response of songbirds and their food resources to commercial thinning and partial harvesting in western Oregon. In addition to the research for academic degrees, Joan has worked extensively for the past 15 years with forest managers, silviculturists, and biologists on research projects and problem analyses in Pacific Northwest forests.

Chris Jordan - Research Biologist, National Marine Fisheries Service
Area of Science Review: Fish biology
Chris is stationed at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center. His current work primarily involves design and implementation of large-scale monitoring programs to assess anadromous salmonid freshwater habitat and population status, as well as the watershed-scale effect of management actions on salmonid habitat and population processes. The research component of these projects is the development of novel monitoring methods, including sampling designs, metrics and indicators, to address specific data and information needs for managing ESA-listed Pacific Northwest salmonid populations. To support the broad-scale application of monitoring research and the analysis of monitoring data, Chris is developing a landscape classification scheme for watersheds of the Pacific Northwest. The scheme is based on immutable geomorphic and climatic characteristics, as well as anthropogenic impacts. And finally, to test the relevance of current and future monitoring programs, he is collaborating with co-manager groups to evaluate ongoing status and effectiveness monitoring programs based on management decisions these programs support.

Tom Spies - Research Forester, U.S. Forest Service
Area of Science Review: Forest ecology and landscape ecology
Tom works for the Pacific Northwest Research Station, based in Corvallis, Oregon, and is also professor (courtesy) in the Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University.  Since completing his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 1983, he has worked in western Oregon and Washington on a wide variety of forest ecology issues, including characterization and definition of old-growth forests. He was a participant in FEMAT and is currently co-team leader of CLAMS (Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study). His active research includes integrated regional models for ecological and socioeconomic assessments; indicators of biological diversity in forest landscapes; old-growth characteristics and conservation; riparian forest ecology; gap dynamics; and applications of remote sensing to ecosystem management.

Fred Swanson - Research Geologist, U.S. Forest Service
Area of Science Review: Geology, landscape ecology, and watershed processes
Fred is assigned to the Pacific Northwest Research Station, based in Corvallis, Oregon, and is also professor (affiliate) in the Departments of Geosciences and Forest Science, Oregon State University. Since completing his Ph.D. in Geology at the University of Oregon in 1972, he has worked at the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest and elsewhere in the Northwest on a wide variety of watershed and ecosystem topics. His main focus has been with natural and management disturbance processes in forest and stream systems.  Experiences relevant to participation on the BLM Science Team include: long-term, close working relationship with federal forest managers, most notably through the Central Cascades Adaptive Management Area; participant in FEMAT; co-organizer and coeditor of a conference and book on bioregional assessments (Island Press 1999) and deep involvement in interdisciplinary ecosystem research over more than three decades.

John Cissel - Western Oregon BLM Science Coordinator
Role on Science Team: Team Leader, Science Coordination
John works for the BLM-Oregon State Office and also holds an affiliate faculty appointment in the Department of Forest Science at Oregon State University. He is responsible for connecting the western Oregon BLM districts to science by integrating management needs into research projects, developing management studies to address management questions, sharing recent science findings with managers, and by developing and demonstrating applications of new science concepts and findings.  John has worked in a science-management interface role for the last 15 years, and has particular experience with landscape analysis and planning. John is responsible for science support to the western Oregon BLM RMP revisions.