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
A draft decision framework for the National Park Service Interior Region 5 bison stewardship strategy
Report on the workshop 'Global modelling of biodiversity and ecosystem services'
Implications of climate scenarios for Badlands National Park resource management
Grounding simulation models with qualitative case studies: Toward a holistic framework to make climate science usable for US public land management
Moving from eco-forecasts to eco-projections
Model-based scenario planning to inform climate change adaptation in the Northern Great Plains—Final report
Crossing boundaries in a collaborative modeling workspace
Multiple methods for multiple futures: Integrating qualitative scenario planning and quantitative simulation modeling for natural resource decision making
Designing ecological climate change impact assessments to reflect key climatic drivers
Co-producing simulation models to inform resource management: a case study from southwest South Dakota
Resource management and operations in central North Dakota: Climate change scenario planning workshop summary November 12-13, 2015, Bismarck, ND
Resource management and operations in southwest South Dakota: Climate change scenario planning workshop summary January 20-21, 2016, Rapid City, SD
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
A draft decision framework for the National Park Service Interior Region 5 bison stewardship strategy
Report on the workshop 'Global modelling of biodiversity and ecosystem services'
Implications of climate scenarios for Badlands National Park resource management
Grounding simulation models with qualitative case studies: Toward a holistic framework to make climate science usable for US public land management
Moving from eco-forecasts to eco-projections
Model-based scenario planning to inform climate change adaptation in the Northern Great Plains—Final report
Crossing boundaries in a collaborative modeling workspace
Multiple methods for multiple futures: Integrating qualitative scenario planning and quantitative simulation modeling for natural resource decision making
Designing ecological climate change impact assessments to reflect key climatic drivers
Co-producing simulation models to inform resource management: a case study from southwest South Dakota
Resource management and operations in central North Dakota: Climate change scenario planning workshop summary November 12-13, 2015, Bismarck, ND
Resource management and operations in southwest South Dakota: Climate change scenario planning workshop summary January 20-21, 2016, Rapid City, SD
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.