Brian W Miller, Ph.D.
Dr. Brian Miller is a Research Ecologist with the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, one of the nine regional centers that form the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) network.
The USGS CASC program teams scientists with natural and cultural resource managers and local communities to help fish, wildlife, water, land, and people adapt to a changing climate. Brian focuses on developing and applying scenario planning, ecological simulation modeling, and related tools to help partners navigate climate change impacts and adaptation options. Brian has an interdisciplinary background studying human-environment interactions. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he also worked at the Carolina Population Center.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. in Ecology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 19
Filter Total Items: 55
Implications of climate scenarios for Badlands National Park resource management
Badlands National Park (BADL) hosts a myriad of natural and cultural resources, including bison and black-footed ferrets, the mixed grass prairie they live in, 37-75 million-year-old fossils, and historic buildings, trails, and roads. All are sensitive to climate, but anticipating precisely how each will be affected by climate change is difficult. In the face of this challenge, park...
Authors
Brian W. Miller, Amy Symstad, Gregor W. Schuurman
Grounding simulation models with qualitative case studies: Toward a holistic framework to make climate science usable for US public land management
Policies directing agencies and public land managers to incorporate climate change into management face several barriers. These stem, in part, from a disconnect between the information that is produced and the information needs of local resource managers. A disproportionate focus on the natural and physical sciences in climate vulnerability and adaptation assessment obscure...
Authors
Tyler A. Beeton, Shannon M. McNeeley, Brian W. Miller, Dennis S. Ojima
Moving from eco-forecasts to eco-projections
Ecological models can provide estimates of future conditions that are useful for decision-making, including long-term planning and resource prioritization. However, these models often rely on assumptions about ecological relationships and trajectories, forcings (e.g., biophysical conditions), and management approaches that may not be explicitly considered. To make assumptions more...
Authors
Brian W. Miller, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Gregor W. Schuurman, Jamie K Reaser
Model-based scenario planning to inform climate change adaptation in the Northern Great Plains—Final report
Public SummaryWe worked with managers in two focal areas to plan for the uncertain future by integrating quantitative climate change scenarios and simulation modeling into scenario planning exercises.In our central North Dakota focal area, centered on Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, managers are concerned about how changes in flood severity and growing conditions for...
Authors
Amy Symstad, Brian W. Miller, Jonathan M. Friedman, Nicholas A. Fisichelli, Andrea J. Ray, Erika Rowland, Gregor W. Schuurman
Crossing boundaries in a collaborative modeling workspace
There is substantial literature on the importance of bridging across disciplinary and science–management boundaries. One of the ways commonly suggested to cross boundaries is for participants from both sides of the boundary to jointly produce information (i.e., knowledge co-production). But simply providing tools or bringing people together in the same room is not sufficient. Here we...
Authors
Jeffrey T. Morisette, Amanda E. Cravens, Brian W. Miller, Marian Talbert, Colin Talbert, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Michelle Fink, Karin Decker, Eric Odell
Multiple methods for multiple futures: Integrating qualitative scenario planning and quantitative simulation modeling for natural resource decision making
Scenario planning helps managers incorporate climate change into their natural resource decision making through a structured “what-if” process of identifying key uncertainties and potential impacts and responses. Although qualitative scenarios, in which ecosystem responses to climate change are derived via expert opinion, often suffice for managers to begin addressing climate change in...
Authors
Amy Symstad, Nicholas A. Fisichelli, Brian W. Miller, Erika Rowland, Gregor W. Schuurman
Non-USGS Publications**
Miller, B. W. 2015. Using geospatial analysis to assess the influence of land-use change and conservation on pastoralist access to drought resources. Nomadic Peoples 19(1): 120-145.
Miller, B. W., Leslie, P. W., McCabe, J. T. 2014. Coping with natural hazards in a conservation context: resource-use decisions of Maasai households during recent and historical drought. Human Ecology 42(5): 753-768.
Miller, B. W., & Doyle, M. W. 2014. Rangeland management and fluvial geomorphology in northern Tanzania. Geomorphology 214: 366-377.
Miller, B. W., Caplow, S. C., Leslie, P. W. 2012. Feedbacks between conservation and social-ecological systems. Conservation Biology 26(2): 218-227.
Miller, B. W., Breckheimer I., McCleary, A. L., Guzmán-Ramirez, L., Caplow, S. C., Jones-Smith, J. C., Walsh, S. J. 2010. Using stylized agent-based models for population-environment research: a case study from the Galápagos Islands. Population and Environment 31(6): 401-426.
Walsh, S. J., Miller, B. W., Breckheimer, I., McCleary, A. L., Guzman-Ramirez, L., Caplow, S. C., Jones-Smith, J. C. 2009. Complexity Theory and Spatial Simulation Models to Assess Population-Environment Interactions in the Galápagos Islands. In: M. Wolff and M. Gardener (eds.), Proceedings of the Galápagos Science Symposium, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, Ecuador. Pp 145-148.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 19
Filter Total Items: 55
Implications of climate scenarios for Badlands National Park resource management
Badlands National Park (BADL) hosts a myriad of natural and cultural resources, including bison and black-footed ferrets, the mixed grass prairie they live in, 37-75 million-year-old fossils, and historic buildings, trails, and roads. All are sensitive to climate, but anticipating precisely how each will be affected by climate change is difficult. In the face of this challenge, park...
Authors
Brian W. Miller, Amy Symstad, Gregor W. Schuurman
Grounding simulation models with qualitative case studies: Toward a holistic framework to make climate science usable for US public land management
Policies directing agencies and public land managers to incorporate climate change into management face several barriers. These stem, in part, from a disconnect between the information that is produced and the information needs of local resource managers. A disproportionate focus on the natural and physical sciences in climate vulnerability and adaptation assessment obscure...
Authors
Tyler A. Beeton, Shannon M. McNeeley, Brian W. Miller, Dennis S. Ojima
Moving from eco-forecasts to eco-projections
Ecological models can provide estimates of future conditions that are useful for decision-making, including long-term planning and resource prioritization. However, these models often rely on assumptions about ecological relationships and trajectories, forcings (e.g., biophysical conditions), and management approaches that may not be explicitly considered. To make assumptions more...
Authors
Brian W. Miller, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Gregor W. Schuurman, Jamie K Reaser
Model-based scenario planning to inform climate change adaptation in the Northern Great Plains—Final report
Public SummaryWe worked with managers in two focal areas to plan for the uncertain future by integrating quantitative climate change scenarios and simulation modeling into scenario planning exercises.In our central North Dakota focal area, centered on Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, managers are concerned about how changes in flood severity and growing conditions for...
Authors
Amy Symstad, Brian W. Miller, Jonathan M. Friedman, Nicholas A. Fisichelli, Andrea J. Ray, Erika Rowland, Gregor W. Schuurman
Crossing boundaries in a collaborative modeling workspace
There is substantial literature on the importance of bridging across disciplinary and science–management boundaries. One of the ways commonly suggested to cross boundaries is for participants from both sides of the boundary to jointly produce information (i.e., knowledge co-production). But simply providing tools or bringing people together in the same room is not sufficient. Here we...
Authors
Jeffrey T. Morisette, Amanda E. Cravens, Brian W. Miller, Marian Talbert, Colin Talbert, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Michelle Fink, Karin Decker, Eric Odell
Multiple methods for multiple futures: Integrating qualitative scenario planning and quantitative simulation modeling for natural resource decision making
Scenario planning helps managers incorporate climate change into their natural resource decision making through a structured “what-if” process of identifying key uncertainties and potential impacts and responses. Although qualitative scenarios, in which ecosystem responses to climate change are derived via expert opinion, often suffice for managers to begin addressing climate change in...
Authors
Amy Symstad, Nicholas A. Fisichelli, Brian W. Miller, Erika Rowland, Gregor W. Schuurman
Non-USGS Publications**
Miller, B. W. 2015. Using geospatial analysis to assess the influence of land-use change and conservation on pastoralist access to drought resources. Nomadic Peoples 19(1): 120-145.
Miller, B. W., Leslie, P. W., McCabe, J. T. 2014. Coping with natural hazards in a conservation context: resource-use decisions of Maasai households during recent and historical drought. Human Ecology 42(5): 753-768.
Miller, B. W., & Doyle, M. W. 2014. Rangeland management and fluvial geomorphology in northern Tanzania. Geomorphology 214: 366-377.
Miller, B. W., Caplow, S. C., Leslie, P. W. 2012. Feedbacks between conservation and social-ecological systems. Conservation Biology 26(2): 218-227.
Miller, B. W., Breckheimer I., McCleary, A. L., Guzmán-Ramirez, L., Caplow, S. C., Jones-Smith, J. C., Walsh, S. J. 2010. Using stylized agent-based models for population-environment research: a case study from the Galápagos Islands. Population and Environment 31(6): 401-426.
Walsh, S. J., Miller, B. W., Breckheimer, I., McCleary, A. L., Guzman-Ramirez, L., Caplow, S. C., Jones-Smith, J. C. 2009. Complexity Theory and Spatial Simulation Models to Assess Population-Environment Interactions in the Galápagos Islands. In: M. Wolff and M. Gardener (eds.), Proceedings of the Galápagos Science Symposium, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Galapagos, Ecuador. Pp 145-148.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.