Some of my current research projects include:

Estimating the avoided costs from investments in watershed health in Colorado

I am working with ecologists and hydrologists at Colorado State University to estimate the return on investments from wildfire mitigation treatments aimed at preventing post-fire erosion. We are using predictive modeling to understand the impact of fire mitigation on vegetative cover and erosion, and linking that with the avoided costs to downstream water utilities.

Analyzing drivers of land use change in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador

I am the PI on a NASA Land-Cover/Land-Use Change grant to evaluate the drivers of land use change in a transboundary conservation area in Mesoamerica. This project is combining remote sensing analysis and quasi-experimental methods to analyze how land governance and protected areas in three countries – Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador – have impacted ecosystem and socioeconomic outcomes.

Integrated ecological-socioeconomic modeling of payments for ecosystem services impacts on watershed services in Mexico

I am a Co-PI on a NSF Coupled Natural-Human Systems grant. The project team includes geospatial scientists, ecologists, hydrologists, sociologists and economists. We are estimating the social, economic, and ecosystem service outcomes from payments programs in Veracruz State Mexico. My research component for this project includes: 1) assessing differences in socioeconomic and forest outcomes across PES programs and areas without the program, and 2) evaluating program design preferences for producers and beneficiaries of watershed services.

Land tenure and payments for ecosystem services impacts in Ecuador

I am working with a multidisciplinary social science team to provide empirical evidence on the impact of land titling and a national PES program on deforestation in Ecuador. We are combining remote sensing analysis, quasi-experimental methods, and participatory mapping and interviews to better understand how these conservation tools affect household decision-making.