Research Group
Dr. Hopping studies how environmental and social changes are affecting ecosystems and rural livelihoods, particularly in mountain and pastoral regions. Please contact her via email if you are interested in pursuing an advanced degree related to these themes at Boise State.
Postdocs and Research Associates
Dr. Briana Swette
Postdoctoral Researcher
USDA AFRI Postdoctoral Fellow (2024-2026)
BrianaSwette@boisestate.edu
Briana is a social-ecological systems scientist that studies how land is governed and the consequences for rural communities and ecosystems. She integrates methods from geography, ecology, and the social sciences to understand and promote sustainable land management.
Madelyn Sorrentino
Lab Manager
MS Biology (2024)
Presidential Management Fellow (2024)
maddisorrentino@boisestate.edu
Maddi’s research interests include sustainable land management, managing for multiple objectives, and how changing environmental and social conditions affect the relationship between humans and the environment. She currently studies sheep grazing to target invasive vegetation in Idaho’s Wood River Valley region.
Current Students
Clara Buchholtz
Ph.D. candidate: Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
Northwest CASC Fellow (2020-2021)
ClaraBuchholtz@u.boisestate.edu
Clara studies the conservation of desert ecosystems and rare and endemic plants, with a focus on Astragalus mulfordiae in southwestern Idaho.
Haley Netherton-Morrison
Ph.D. candidate: Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
USDA NIFA Predoctoral Fellow (2023-2025)
HaleyNetherton@u.boisestate.edu
Haley focuses on the application of social science theory to natural resource issues. She currently studies how people-place relationships influence public attitudes toward landscape and community change.
Tyler Lopez
MEM Student: Environmental Management
tylerlopez351@u.boisestate.edu
Tyler’s research interests include multifunctionality of landscapes and regenerative agriculture. Tyler is studying multifunctionality of U.S. Forest Service grazing allotments.
Kloe Walter
MEM student: Environmental Management
Northwest CASC Fellow (2024-2025)
kloewalter@boisestate.edu
Kloe’s research interests include plant ecology, invasive species management, and sustainable multiple-use land management practices. Kloe is studying the relationship between targeted sheep grazing and plant species composition.
Alumni
Jacob Scott
Undergraduate Research Assistant and HERC Fellow (2022-2024)
Jacob’s research interests include conservation ecology, plant ecology, and increasing civic engagement and education about preservation of public lands in the West. Jacob is an undergraduate student studying Biology with an emphasis in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and a minor in Music.
Kylie Stear
Undergraduate Research Assistant (2022-2024)
Kylie’s research interests include plant ecology and the conservation of rare and endemic plants. She is an undergraduate getting her degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Sustainability.
Dr. Kerry Byrne
Visiting Scholar (2023)
Kerry’s website
Kerry is an Associate Professor of Applied Ecology at Cal Poly Humboldt and a Visiting Scholar at Boise State. While in Idaho, she is investigating the soil seed bank in cheatgrass-invaded rangeland ecosystems.
Callie Puntenney
MS Biology (2022)
Northwest CASC Fellow (2020-2021)
Callie researches the structure and dynamics of human social and infrastructural systems and the environment within which they operate. Through considerations of policy, history, livelihoods, and phenology, she hopes to inform collaborative management approaches that support sustainable, thriving ecosystems.
Edward Trout
MS Biology (2021)
Edward is interested in engaging with the challenges encountered in human-wildlife interfaces. His research aims to leverage ecological analyses joined with collaboration of local stakeholders to promote coexistence between humans and wildlife. He is co-advised by Dr. Kelly Hopping and Dr. Neil Carter (University of Michigan).
