Brian W Miller, Ph.D.
Dr. Brian Miller is a USGS Research Ecologist with the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, one of nine centers in the United States charged with providing the best-available climate science to resource managers.
Brian's current focus is on using scenario planning and simulation modeling (state-and-transition simulations, agent-based models) to inform natural resource management in the Rocky Mountains and northern Great Plains. He is also a co-organizer of the Indigenous Phenology Network and an instructor with the National Conservation Training Center. He has an interdisciplinary background in social-ecological systems, and has used a broad range of methods – including simulation modeling, institutional analysis, fluvial geomorphology, livelihood decision modeling, and remote sensing – to examine the interactions of climate, ecosystems, and resource management in East Africa, the Galápagos Islands, and the western U.S.
Brian earned a B.A. 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. His dissertation focused on how conservation areas and land use changes have affected access to drought resource areas in East Africa, how these changes in resource access have influenced the livelihood decisions of Maasai pastoralists, and how livelihood decisions and resource management institutions have affected rangeland rivers.
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
Supporting the National Park Service Midwest Region Bison Management Plan
Refining Guidance for Incorporating Climate Science and Scenario Planning into National Park Service Resource Stewardship Strategies
Understanding Species' Range Shifts in Response to Climate Change: Results from a Systematic National Review
Improving Projections of Wildlife and Landscapes for Natural Resource Managers
Informing Climate Change Adaptation Planning in National Parks
Webinar: Using State-and-Transition Simulation Models to Guide Sustainable Management of Ecosystems: Three Case Studies from across the US
Overcoming “analysis paralysis” through better climate change scenario planning
Integrating climate considerations into grazing management programs in national parks
From flowering to foliage: Accelerometers track tree sway to provide high-resolution insights into tree phenology
Conservation under uncertainty: Innovations in participatory climate change scenario planning from U.S. national parks
Increasing the uptake of ecological model results in policy decisions to improve biodiversity outcomes
A new approach for representing agent-environment feedbacks: Coupled agent-based and state-and-transition simulation models
PS3: The Pheno-Synthesis software suite for integration and analysis of multi-scale, multi-platform phenological data
Divergent, plausible, and relevant climate futures for near- and long-term resource planning
Climate change scenario planning for resource stewardship at Wind Cave National Park
Ecological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management
Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending near-term changes in ecosystem conditions or dynamics. Managers may use the information in forecasts to minimize the adverse ef
Report on the workshop ‘Next Steps in Developing Nature Futures’
Do empirical observations support commonly-held climate change range shift hypotheses? A systematic review protocol
Non-USGS Publications**
**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
Supporting the National Park Service Midwest Region Bison Management Plan
Refining Guidance for Incorporating Climate Science and Scenario Planning into National Park Service Resource Stewardship Strategies
Understanding Species' Range Shifts in Response to Climate Change: Results from a Systematic National Review
Improving Projections of Wildlife and Landscapes for Natural Resource Managers
Informing Climate Change Adaptation Planning in National Parks
Webinar: Using State-and-Transition Simulation Models to Guide Sustainable Management of Ecosystems: Three Case Studies from across the US
Overcoming “analysis paralysis” through better climate change scenario planning
Integrating climate considerations into grazing management programs in national parks
From flowering to foliage: Accelerometers track tree sway to provide high-resolution insights into tree phenology
Conservation under uncertainty: Innovations in participatory climate change scenario planning from U.S. national parks
Increasing the uptake of ecological model results in policy decisions to improve biodiversity outcomes
A new approach for representing agent-environment feedbacks: Coupled agent-based and state-and-transition simulation models
PS3: The Pheno-Synthesis software suite for integration and analysis of multi-scale, multi-platform phenological data
Divergent, plausible, and relevant climate futures for near- and long-term resource planning
Climate change scenario planning for resource stewardship at Wind Cave National Park
Ecological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management
Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending near-term changes in ecosystem conditions or dynamics. Managers may use the information in forecasts to minimize the adverse ef
Report on the workshop ‘Next Steps in Developing Nature Futures’
Do empirical observations support commonly-held climate change range shift hypotheses? A systematic review protocol
Non-USGS Publications**
**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.