Key People

Over the past 23 years Resource Dimensions’ partners, associate partners and key staff have conducted more than 700 projects in 22 states, and six countries on a range of land use, agricultural, transportation, land use planning, conservation, environmental policy and resource management issues in various economic contexts. Clients include international, national, state, municipal, and Tribal governments, NGOs, private foundations and research centers, and various private sector law, planning, transportation, engineering, architecture, and science based firms.

Our community-based public participation and economic impact analysis processes have been instrumental in guiding the implementation of a variety of land use, transportation, and resource management policies in nearly two-dozen states. Producing thoughtful, accurate, and enduring solutions to meet client needs is our goal.

Resource Dimensions is uniquely recognized for its expertise in assessing the economic and social dimensions of land use and resource management issues, and related policy implications. Through our work, we have earned a reputation for sound technical analysis, convincing communication, efficient and cost-effective high-quality service.

Select Senior Partners & Associates

Julie Ann Gustanski – Resource Dimensions’ president, principal and co-founder, is an economist, an AICP certified planner, social scientist and policy analyst specializing in land use and natural resource issues. She has 23 years experience working with public, private, academic, and non-profit organizations across the U.S. and abroad.

Julie holds a Ph.D. in ecological economics, a M.S. in Urban Design and Regional Planning, and an L.L.M. in Planning Law, from the University of Edinburgh (UK), an MEM in Resource Economics and Environmental Policy from Duke University, and a B.S. in Legal Studies and Environmental Policy, from the University of Minnesota. She is also certified in environmental conflict resolution.

Dr. Gustanski’s multidisciplinary work focuses on the interactions between society and institutions, including: economics, policy, and ethics, in relation to land use, resource management, decision-making, and environmental and social policies.

Formerly, she worked as a litigation assistant and law clerk, specializing in land use, toxics, real estate, and environmental issues. She has over 20 years experience in conducting legal research, preparing legal opinions, and has served as an expert witness in a variety of cases. More recently, she was a project manager/economist with ECONorthwest in Seattle, an assistant visiting professor of economics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, and co-founder of 4Ever Land Conservation Associates, a land use and environmental consulting firm. She has also taught graduate and undergraduate courses in economics, land use, environmental policy, and qualitative data analysis at the University of Edinburgh (UK), and as a visiting professor in the Ecological Economics program at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

She is recognized nationally for her work to meld issues of social responsibility, economic stability, and environmental health in sustainability planning through research, writing and analyses of ecosystem service valuation, conservation, and the development of integrated decision-making models.

Her work frequently brings together divergent stakeholders in resolving complex issues, particularly within the context of suburban and exurban communities. Though such work she has conducted hundreds of surveys, focus groups, interviews, and other stakeholder processes associated with issues as rural economic development, water rights, groundwater contamination, land conservation, species protection and reintroduction, housing, feasibility and market analyses, and sustainability planning.

She has assisted a diverse cadre of clients in forging creative strategies to both protect and promote unique community attributes. Julie specializes in assessing the full-cycle social and economic impacts of development decisions using qualitative and quantitative methods. Her projects typically fall into the domains of valuation, impact analysis, market feasibility analysis, growth management, economic development, infrastructure and transportation impact analyses, conservation, and strategic plan development. She has also been involved with over 50 EA/EIS and other compliance studies for various state and federal agencies.

During her 20+ year professional tenure in the conservation community she has developed easement, PDR and TDR programs in several states, directed a multi-million dollar farmland preservation program, served as executive director of a land trust, co-founded the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association, and has assisted in the preservation of over 200,000 acres of land. She also recently co-authored and edited the book Protecting the Land: Conservation Easements Past, Present, and Future Washington, DC: Island Press, 2000).

Julie has lead the development of hundreds of projects in more than a dozen states, and several countries. Some Recent Projects include:

• Economic Impacts of MVSTA Trails and Land Resources of the Methow Valley. Multi-attribute economic impact analysis of local and regional economic impacts and ecosystem service contributions generated by the 200 km MVSTA trail system in Washington’s Methow Valley. The project used a range of methods, including trail, resident and area business surveys, contingent valuation, I-O and hedonic models, regression analysis, economic forecasting, CBA and fiscal analysis to evaluate the range of economic contributions made by area trails and protected lands local and regional economies.(MVSTA and Methow Conservancy)
  
• Urban Growth Area Decision-Support Model and Economic Impact Analysis of Land Use Redesignation. Developed methodology, conducted area interviews, local/regional socio-economic assessment, land valuation under alternative uses and economic viability of agriculture analyses for diverse public-private partnership. Project includes development of an UGA decision-support model to aid in long-term community decision-making relative to future growth and an economic analysis for planning area lands abutting or near area growth boundaries.
  
• Public Preferences for Public Sector Services and Service Provision Values. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to derive value sets and willingness-to-pay estimates for specified public services in Scotland’s Highland region. Drs. Gustanski and Bergmann developed the combined choice experiment methodology, conducted focus groups, performed content, Ethnographic, and choice model analysis, and prepared reports and presentations. (Highland Council & Well-being Alliance).
  
• Economic Impacts Analysis—SR 28 Wenatchee Eastside Corridor Project. Developed economic model to evaluate local and regional economic impacts related to the proposed $150 million dollar road improvement project in East Wenatchee, WA. Developed methodology, prepared regional economic profile, conducted analyses and prepared various technical reports for DEIS and FEIS. (FHWA, WSDOT)
  
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Plan Revision. Elkmont Historic District EA/EIS. Visitor Use and Recreation Analysis. Developed methodology, conducted socio-economic profile assessment, and visitor use and recreation analysis relative to cultural, natural, and recreational resources within the Park’s Elkmont Historic District. Analysis looked at historic patterns, current and forecasted future uses based on regional and national trends. Contributed web-site content and periodic updates to increase public awareness, conducted interviews with current and former NPS employees, site surveys, trail use analysis, and analysis of 60+ years of Park Ranger accounts, and prepared draft EA/EIS reports. (NPS)
  
• Washington State DNR Grazing Lands Program Audit & Performance Review. Developed methodology and lead team in evaluation of costs and benefits associated with grazing leases, permits, and other agreements on DNR lands. Conducted comparative policy review of grazing lands programs in select western U.S. states, expert interviews, DNR expenditure review and audit, developed and employed interactive CBA model for future use by DNR in evaluating alternative policy and program scenarios. Prepared report, and addressed legislative review questions. (Washington State JLARC)
  
• Water Rights Valuation Model. Conducted analysis of economic and socio-ecological values of water rights and developed an implementation strategy for basin-wide water rights valuation in the Walla Walla Basin. Examined general characteristics associated with water and economic approaches that have been applied to water and related natural resource issues. Parties include Washington Water Trust, Umatilla and Yakima Nations, U.S. ACE, agricultural interests, water conservation districts, county, utilities, and community interest groups.
  
• Sustainable Pierce County Project – in collaboration with Pierce County Planning and Land Services, Friends of Pierce County, and communities countywide. Dr. Gustanski has led project design, development and strategic planning processes for the multi-phased project in the planning stages since late 2004. The SPC project is a first for Washington state in that the planning, policy development and development of resources for use by communities will be conducted at the county-level and provided to communities to aid them in meeting policy standards and moving forward on a uniform front toward a more sustainable future. The project will actively engage all with a stake in the future of Pierce County through a series of community-based assessments which will aid in developing an integrated sustainability decision-support system (DSS) and complementary workbook for use by communities county-wide.

Partners & Select Sr. Associates

Dorothy H. Anderson is a professor in the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota, Director of the Great Lakes Northern Forests Cooperative Ecological Studies Unit, and a senior associate with Resource Dimensions on the USDA Forest Service Content Analysis project.

Dorothy has 25 years experience in conducting complex qualitative analysis. Previously, she worked for the US Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Research Station as a research social scientist. She has also worked as a social forestry advisor with USAID in New Delhi, India, and as a consultant to the Minnesota DNR. Dr. Anderson’s current work centers on teaching and advising students in the study and analysis of human dimensions of resource management and conducting research on the socio-psychological aspects of natural resource recreation. She has led numerous agency-based projects for the USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers. She is widely recognized as a leader in the field of human dimensions of natural resource use.

The following is a brief list of recent projects in which Dr. Anderson served as project manager, principal or co-principal investigator:

• Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Use Study for Comprehensive Conservation Plan Update (USFWS)
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park 2001 Visitor Study (NPS)
• Hopewell Culture National Historical Park: Evaluating Educational Programs and Services - Survey of Public Attitudes (NPS)
• Apostle Islands National Lakeshore: Meaning and Values Exploration (NPS)
• Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield General Management Plan/EIS (NPS)
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Management Plan Visitor Use Study (NPS)

Gary Beauvais areas of specialization include conservation biology and landscape ecology. He is the Director of the Wyoming Natural Resource Diversity Data Base (WYNDD) at the University of Wyoming and a Resource Dimensions senior scientist on the Yellowstone National Park IDIQ contract. The mission of WYNDD is to provide accurate, current, and objective information to land managers throughout the state to facilitate sound land use and natural resource management decisions by balancing resource development and conservation needs.

Dr. Beauvais conducts mission-oriented research and information dissemination in the fields of conservation biology, habitat ecology, biogeography, and wildland conservation. He is frequently sought for his expertise and has conducted numerous studies for both federal and state based agencies. His research interests include: conservation biology, habitat ecology of vertebrates, landscape ecology, and biogeography.

Recent Projects, include the following in which Dr. Beauvais was either principal or co-principal investigator:

• Wyoming Open Spaces Partnership Project.
• Fine filter analysis of the Bighorn, Medicine Bow, and Shoshone National Forests in Wyoming (USFS)
• Summary of the rare animal and plant species of Washakie County (USFS)
• Design Study to Model the Composition and Structure of Sagebrush Stands (BLM)
• In-depth Species Assessments of 11 Vertebrates of Conservation and Management Concern in Region 2 (USFS)
• Inventory of Amphibians and Reptiles in 8 National Park Service Units in the Great Plains (NPS)
• Web-based Biodiversity Decision Support System – Association for Biodiversity Information

Ariel Bergmann - Sr. Environmental Economist and Policy Analyst specializing in power economics and the economics of renewable energy resources.

Dr. Bergmann has focused his research interests on the development of power economics and renewable energy in the United Kingdom and the United States. He has conducted extensive analysis on green certificate markets, attributes of renewable energy investments, and public preferences and willingness-to-pay for ‘green’ energy. His recent work is on the international front-line of analyzing and developing mechanisms to promote renewable energy markets. Ariel has broad experience with the development and use of contingent valuation surveys, choice experiments, hedonic models, and game theory models to value various social preferences and environmental attributes.

Prior to joining Resource Dimensions in 2004, Ariel was a lecturer in the Economics Department at the University of Glasgow, Scotland where he completed his Ph.D. Ariel also holds an MA and a BA in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Dr. Bergmann currently manages both the Stirling, UK and Denver, CO filed offices.

Recent Projects, include the following in which Ariel has served as project manger, principal economist, and/or principal or co-principal investigator:

• Preferences for public service provision in Scotland's Highland District: Ross & Cromarty using Choice Experiments and Ethnographic Analysis - a multi-method approach to stated preference valuation.
• Public Preferences for Underlying Attributes of Renewable Energy Technologies.
• Valuing the Attributes of Renewable Energy Investments
• Stollsteimer Creek Watershed Management Plan - Pagosa Springs, Archuleta County, Colorado.
• Choice Experiment to Value the Environmental Attributes of Renewable Energy Projects in Scotland.
• Interaction Between the Green Certificate and Electric Power Markets in a Non-Competitive Government Regulated Environment
• Patrol Vehicle Refueling Options for the Denver Police Department: using Monte Carlo Simulations (City and County of Denver)
• Valuing the Attributes of Renewable Energy Investments In Scotland (Scottish Economics Policy Network)

Rose Chmielewski is a senior ecologist and a Usda forest Service Content Analysis Team project manager. She has over 15 years of experience in ecosystem assessment and restoration, wetland identification and functional assessment, wetland mitigation site selection, design, construction management, and post-construction monitoring and natural resources management.

Rose has served as a project manager for several thousand acres of wetland and upland restoration projects. She has hands-on experience and specialized knowledge in hydrologic analysis of natural systems.

Ms. Chmielewski has also completed endangered and threatened species surveys, botanical inventories and management plans within wetlands, woodlands, and tall-grass prairies across the U.S. She also writes and coordinates Section 404 permit applications, various environmental reports, environmental impact statements and biological assessments, and other NEPA compliance documentation.

Recent Projects include the following in which Rose served as project manager and/or primary investigator:

• Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest Roads Project. Led multi-disciplinary team in developing the Biological Evaluations and Environmental Assessments for two proposed roadway projects. (USFS)
• Brownstown Ranger District, Hoosier National Forest. Led Environmental Assessment (EA) and Biological Evaluation (BE) teams in developing assessments related to the proposed Fuels Treatment project (USFS).
• Superior National Forest/Long Lake Area EA, La Croix Ranger District. Conducted content analysis for the site-specific EA tiered to and incorporating the Land and Resource Management Plan. Focus was on devising a long-range dispersed recreation access plan for the Long Lake Area (USFS).
• Huron-Manistee National Forests. Forest-wide Biological Assessment for the Huron-Manistee National Forests in Michigan (USFS).

Roger Coupal is an associate professor of economics in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wyoming and a senior applied economist with Resource Dimensions. He has worked in several states as part of University Extension and has conducted substantial research in area of community economic analysis and natural resource management.

He holds a Masters degree in Agricultural economics from the University of Arizona, and his PhD in economics from Washington State University. His expertise is in regional impact analysis, computable general equilibrium modeling, and fiscal impact analysis as it relates to natural resource management issues.

Dr. Coupal has been involved in a series of open space studies and economic issues related to wildlife habitat, snowmobiling, agricultural sustainability, community planning, recreation and tourism, energy development impacts, and fiscal impact modeling for various county and state based resource agencies. Roger has worked on several resource management plans (RMPs) and related EIS documentation for the U.S. Forest Service and the BLM. He also served on the ENR Review Committee for Research pertaining to NPS Winter Use Plans, where he was responsible for the review of the Greater Yellowstone Winter Use Plan.

Project work includes assessment of Salmon habitat policy in Idaho, electricity deregulation in the Pacific Northwest, agricultural development on Arizona Indian Reservations, and several community level models for local economic development.

Recent Projects include the following in which Rose served as project manager and/or primary investigator:

• Economic Impacts of Snowmobiling in Wyoming – Wyoming State Parks.
• Wyoming Open Spaces Partnership Project
• Big Horn National Forest Plan Revision – US Forest Service and Big Horn Mountain Country Coalition (NPS)
• Development of the Wyoming Community Development Resource Net – US West Foundation and Wyoming Business Council.
• Evaluation of Bureau of Land Management, Recreation Data and an Estimate of Recreation Expenditures on BLM Lands (BLM)
• The Impacts of Amenity Values on Agric. Lands Conservation: Property Values, Community Preferences and Cost of Community Services – USDA-Natural Resource Inventory.
• Jack Morrill Hills Economic Impact Assessment (BLM)

Tom Daniels is a Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Department of City & Regional Planning, and a Resource Dimensions Senior Partner. His focus is in the area of Environmental Planning and Growth Management. Tom's main areas of interest are farmland preservation, growth management, and connection between land use and water quality. Tom has taught at SUNY-Albany, Kansas State University, and Iowa State University. He has served on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of the American Planning Association, and in 2002 he was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.

Tom holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Oregon State University, an M.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (UK) and B.A. cum laude in Economics, from Harvard University.

Tom is the author of When City and Country Collide: Managing Growth in the Metropolitan Fringe (1999), and co-author of Holding Our Ground: Protecting America's Farmland (1997) and The Small Town Planning Handbook (2003), published by the American Planning Association.

For nearly a decade, Tom managed Lancaster County, Pennsylvania's nationally-recognized farmland preservation program.

Recent Projects, include the following in which Dr. Daniels served as project manager, principal or co-principal investigator:

• Sprawl and Land Use Change in the Capital District of New York
• Land Use Planning Techniques in the Chesapeake Bay and Hudson River Estuaries
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Economic Revitalization Through Technology and Educational Institutions
• Agricultural Zoning Ordinance, McLean County, Illinois.
• Evaluation of Farmland Protection Techniques and Programs (Metropolitan Council of the Greater Twin Cities, Minnesota)
• Formula-Based Appraisal Method to Estimate the Value of Development Rights of Farm Properties in Michigan (Michigan State DNR).
• Points-Based Appraisal Systems to Estimate the Value of Development Rights of Farm Properties in Lancaster County, PA (Lancaster County Agricultural Preserve Board)
• Economic Analysis of the Conservation Reserve Program in Kansas (Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station)

Mae Davenport is an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University in the Department of Forestry and a senior resource policy analyst with Resource Dimensions on the USFS Content Analysis project.

Previously, Mae was a research associate in the Department of Forestry, at the University of Montana in Missoula.Over the past several years, she has been involved in a number of projects centered on the management of public lands and their diverse natural resources. Currently, she is coordinating field data collection at three sites across the U.S. and is conducting in depth interviews with community members and Forest Service, Park Service and BLM agency personnel. She has taught graduate and undergraduate courses on the methods and analytical processes of qualitative analysis, and has authored several reports, and peer reviewed articles emanating from her work in Yellowstone, Niobrara, Voyageurs, and more generally, on issues related to national park lands.

Mae frequently works with clients as the National Park Service, State Parks, US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, BLM, community groups and municipal governments.

Recent Projects, include the following in which Dr. Davenport served as project manager, principal or co-principal investigator:

• Interpretive analysis of place-based meanings local community members ascribe to the Niobrara National Scenic River (NPS).
• Niobrara National Scenic River Visitor Study (NPS).
• Voyageurs National Park and Niobrara National Scenic River: Modeling use patterns in recreation settings (NPS).
• Yellowstone National Park Winter Visitor Stories: An exploration of the nature of recreation experiences and perceptions of management change (NPS).

Virginia (Ginny) Fay is a resource economist, biologist, researcher and policy analyst with over 25 years of experience in providing a diverse clientele clear, concise information on complex technical issues to facilitate collaborative decision making on tough problems.

She holds a BA in biology from Evergreen State College and a MA in economics from the University of Washington. Ginny specializes in economic and ecological research, community development, conflict resolution and technical writing.

Formerly, Ms. Fay served as the Alaska State Tourism Director, where was responsible for directing the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development tourism office as well as the community and business development and research sections. She managed all the Department’s tourism programs and research including the Alaska Visitor Statistics Program and chaired the Steering Committee for that project.

As the Alaska State Tourism Director, she directed the Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development tourism office as well as the community and business development and research sections. She has worked with numerous small rural communities to facilitate the development of community solutions to economic and community development issues.

Ginny has worked extensively with small communities, Native tribal organizations, and local and Federal government.

Several of Ms. Fay’s recent projects include:

• Economic Vision for a Prosperous Alaska. Multi-sector economic development plan for Alaska focusing on 21st century innovative ways to grow the Alaska economy while maintaining the quality of life and natural environment important to residents and visitors.
• Sustainable Economic Development for the Prince William Sound Region. Identified opportunities and challenges to diversify and grow the Prince William Sound economy while improving the quality of life, and maintaining the exceptional natural environment. Ginny developed an economic baseline of Prince William Sound with a focus on communities and trends over time. This required extensive community-based research and information gathering from communities and residents on potential economic development projects, and improving economic benefits from existing activities. Potential opportunities and barriers for economic development were examined in the context of regional, state and global markets. The final product provided a ‘blueprint’ for implementing the most promising economic development projects.
• Unalaska Community Development Plan. Funding Sources: City of Unalaska Proposed Capital Improvement Projects. Focused on developing an innovative matrix of potential funding sources and public finance leveraging options for infrastructure, trails, water and sewer, visitor facilities, parks, and historic
• Denali National Park and Preserve Community Transportation Plan. Worked in coordination with development team to design a community transportation system to improve transportation and shuttle bus service for visitors to Denali National Park. A goal of the project is to provide a potentially lower cost and more efficient system for businesses serving Denali visitors, and improve transportation options for seasonal employees in the Denali area.
• Juneau Access Improvements, Land Use and Coastal Zone Technical Report and The Socioeconomic Effects of Juneau Access Improvements EIS. Conducted Series of analyses and prepared technical reports for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities related to improved ferry service and/or road access to Juneau, Alaska.

Chuck Harris is a professor in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho and a senior resource social scientist with Resource Dimensions. He has 23 years of experience as a social scientist, policy analyst, and resource planner.

Chuck has conducted numerous natural resource projects that have applied sociology, social psychology and socio-economic analysis to a variety of natural resource topics, including assessment of the impacts of resource-management activities on communities in the Western U.S., rural development planning, the diverse values of natural resources, organizational change in resource management agencies, and various resource policy issues.

Dr. Harris has led numerous public participation and community involvement projects related to economic and community development and natural resource management. His work seeks to provide greater understanding of community-based development trends and strategies in the Northwest, resource, and specifically the role of amenity uses of natural resources for triggering economic development. Chuck's project-based work covers public involvement, community-based collaborative processes, and facilitation in the context of environmental decision-making and strategic resource planning. He is nationally recognized for his work and writings on the use of qualitative and quantitative analysis of human-resource interactions.

Clients include the Army Corps of Engineers, US Forest Service, BLM, and state and local agencies in the Pacific Northwest.

Recent projects include:

• Washington State DNR Grazing Lands Program Audit & Cost-Benefit Analysis (Resource Dimensions).
• Social Impact Assessment Discipline Report – SR28 Eastside Corridor EIS – FHWA & Washington Department of Transportation (Resource Dimensions/DEA)
• Public Involvement Plan – Asotin County Conservation District and Snake River Salmon Recovery Board. (Resource Dimensions/NAC)
• Community-Based Social Impact Assessment, Phases I & II - Lower Snake Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility Study and EIS. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).
• Recreation and Tourism Analysis- Lower Snake Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility Study and EIS. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).
• Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project (ICBEMP)
• Evaluation of recreational and scenic area activities and values for the Middle Snake River.(State Attorney General’s Office, Idaho).
• Qualitative data analysis and modeling the role of recreation and leisure travel in the Idaho economy.
• Community Tourism Potential: Results for four North Idaho communities - 1990 to 1995. Idaho Department of Commerce, Economic Development Division, Tourism Action Plan.

Raluca Iorgulescu Polimeni is an assistant professor in the Economics Department at Siena College in New York and a senior research economist with Resource Dimensions. Her work centers on sustainable agriculture, multi-scale integrated analysis of societal metabolism, economic development, and energy efficiency.

Raluca is a native of Romania where she received a BS in Physics, and a BA in Market Economics, with a focus on modeling economies in transition. From 1996 to 1999 she was a research scientist in the physics department at the Institute for Microtechnology in Bucharest, a teaching assistant at the University of Bucharest, and an invited research scientist at Sezione of Instituto Nazionale di Fisca Nucleare (INFN), Physics Department of the Perugia University in Italy. Her interest in economics eventually brought her to the Institute of Economic Forecasting at the Romanian Academy of Science.

She has a Masters and PhD in economics from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute in New York. She specializes in conducting extended input-output analysis, regional economic analysis, regional economic development, economic evolution and modeling transition economies.

Dr. Polimeni’s recent projects include:

• Assisted in conducting economic impacts analysis using modified IMPLAN model for SR28 Eastside Corridor transportation project in East Wenatchee, WA.
• Extended Water Rights Valuation Model - Washington Water Trust. Conducted research, review, and developed annotated bibliography.
• Assisted with research, literature review and data collection relative to the Economic Valuation of Water Rights for Mainstem Columbia River for law suit on water rights and Appeal on permits issued for withdraws from the mainstem of the Columbia River.
• Economic Damages: Assisted with research and review of economics literature for contamination case. Private client (2003)
• Input-Output Analysis for Hudson River Waterfront Economic Redevelopment Plan
• Valatie Theater Project, Columbia County, NY – Regional input-output analysis and evaluation of local economic impacts.
• Nigeria Field Survey – developed, administered, and analyzed socioeconomic surveys in Nigerian villages and participated in conducting behavioral research. Umuluwe Nigeria (2001).

Robert Muth is a professor in the Deaprtment of Natural Resource Conservation at the University of Massacuhsets-Amherst, and a senior social scientist with Resource Dimensions on the USFS Content Analysis project.

Previously he was a regional social scientist for the USDA Forest Service for nearly 20 years in Alaska, Washington, D.C. and Seattle. During his tenure with the Forest Service, he participated in planning projects and programs of social research related to wilderness, subsistence use of natural resources, outdoor recreation, and social impact assessment in natural resource decision making. In his career with the Forest Service he conducted analysis of public issues and management concerns, identification of social conditions, and social impact analysis of alternatives for Chugach and Tongass National Forest Land and Resource Management Plans. He was also the National Social Impact Assessment Coordinator for the roadless area review (RARE II) team where he coordinated a task force to design a social analysis process for planning alternatives and supervised regional social analysis coordinators in seven Forest Service regions.

Dr. Muth's areas of expertise are in natural resource policy and the human dimensions of natural resources. His current research interests include the public policy-making process, conflict resolution, and a broad array of social values and human activities related to natural resources, as hunting and fishing, poaching, trapping, animal rights activism, and subsistence uses.

He regularly conducts projects and prepares supporting reports for the USDA Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, non-profit organizations, and various state resource agencies.

Dr. Muth’s recent projects include:

• Evaluation of the Effects of the Massachusetts Wildlife Protection Act on Public Attitudes Towards Wildlife (1998-2003). Cooperative project (with the Human Dimensions Research Unit, Cornell University) of comparative attitudes and values of residents of Massachusetts and New York relating to beaver population abundance, beaver damage, and furbearer management strategies.
• Attitudes and Values of Wildlife and Fisheries Professionals. Project investigated the attitudes and values of wildlife and fisheries conservation professionals (1997-2000)
• The Socioeconomic Value of Furbearer Resources: A Study of Furbearer Harvest in Six New England States – U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station (1993-1997).
• Natural Resource Use, Rural Culture, and Rural Economic Development. US Forest Service, Division of Federal Aid, Region 5, US Fish and Wildlife Service; Pennsylvania Game Commission (1993-1998).

Chad Pierskalla is an assistant professor in the Division of Forestry at West Virginia University and a senior research scientist with Resource Dimensions on the USFS Content Analysis project. He specializes in natural resource tourism and recreation issues.

Chad holds a Ph.D. in Wildland Recreation and Resource Management from the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Pierskalla has assisted in the provision of resource management, environmental planning and compliance services to a variety of federal, state, and local land management clients. He works frequently with clients including the National Park Service, State Parks, U.S. Forest Service, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation and the Trust for Public Land.

Dr. Pierskalla’s recent projects include:

• Monongahela National Forest Management Plan Revision EIS Social Assessment - US Forest Service.
• Defining Sustainable Places: An ecological approach to forest recreation management and planning – US Forest Service (2002-2005).
• Interpretation, Coordination and Heritage Tourism Development at Bulltown Historic Area in Braxton County, WV – National Park Service and US Army Corps of Engineers.
• Willingness-to-Pay for Fishing Opportunities. Lead the study team in the design, data collection, qualitative/content analysis, and preparation of report. The goal of the study was to examine anglers’ (WTP) for fishing opportunities, perceived satisfaction level, and beliefs about appropriate indicators and standards of quality for fee fishing experiences.

Grace A. Wang - is an assistant professor of natural resource policy in the Department of Environmental Studies at Western Washington University and a socio-cultural resource policy analyst with Resource Dimensions. She has ten years of experience in natural resource policy, in particular cultural resources management. Early in her career with the U.S. Forest Service, she worked with American Indian tribes and forest managers to reduce resource conflict. Dr. Wang’s areas of expertise are in natural resource policy and the human dimensions of natural resources. Her current research interests include environmental justice issues related to environmental impact assessment and resource allocation, the consultation process with American Indian tribes, access to and implications of non-timber forest products, and a broad array of community-based public participation processes including surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Projects have included work with the Ford Foundation, National Park Service (Redwood National Park), U.S. Forest Service, and Pennsylvania Game Commission. Dr. Wang is a faculty member at the Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University.

She has conducted various projects for clients as the US Forest Service, National Park Service, Pennsylvania State Game Commission, and other state agencies.

Dr. Wang’s recent projects include:

• Environmental Justice Analysis and technical report preparation for SR28 Eastside Corridor transportation improvement project in East Wenatchee, WA. (FHWA and WSDOT)
• Hunter Movement and Spatial Distribution in the Sproul State Forest (Audubon Society).
• Community Asset Building in Forest Communities Initiative. This project is based on the asset-building approach to alleviate poverty and injustice (Ford Foundation).
• Community-based Deer Management in Milford, Pennsylvania (USDA Forest Service, Pennsylvania State Bureau of Forestry and State Game Commission)
• Social Assessment of the Allegheny Forest Region, Pennsylvania (USDA Forest Service).
• Pennsylvania Deer Hunter Perceptions about Deer, Habitat, and Hunting Success (Pennsylvania Game Commission).
• Evaluation of the Pennsylvania 4-H Sportfishing Program. Evaluated the usefulness and viability as a curriculum that provides children with the opportunity and ability to become anglers, regardless of location or socioeconomic constraints (Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission).
• An Ethnographic Overview and Evaluation of American Indian Consultations for Redwood National and State Parks (2003)
• Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park: Historic Forest Planning Charrette. Assessed issues related to visitor use, recreation opportunities, community development, natural and cultural resource conditions, and other related issues and concerns (National Park Service).
• Linking heritage landscapes and ecosystem management on the Mount Hood National Forest (OR). Evaluation of integrated ecosystem and heritage management, especially with regard to American Indians (US Forest Service, Zig Zag Ranger District).

Jack (John B.) Wright is the head of New Mexico State University’s Geography Department and a Sr. Conservation Resource Planner and Social Scientist with Resource Dimensions. Jack has 30 years experience in environmental analysis, land use planning, NEPA conflict resolution, and resource planning. He has a PhD in Geography from the University of California at Berkeley, an MA from the University of Montana-Missoula, and a BA from University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Jack was the planning director in Mineral and Granite Counties Montana during the 1970s and 1980s. During this time he worked closely with the Lolo and Bitterroot National Forests on their Forest Management Plans. Over the process Jack was extensively involved in conflict resolution, leading various public public meetings, organizing official responses, and presenting testimony.

Jack has 27 years experience in land conservation, conservation easements, land exchanges, and the projects of land trusts. He served for seven years as a board member of the Five Valleys Land Trust in Missoula, MT. This work included projects in the Rock Creek drainage that used BPA off-site mitigation money to purchase conservation easements.

Jack was one of two lead consultants on the land exchange that created the Rattlesnake Wilderness and National Recreation Area. This project used $14.3 million in federal funds from coal leasing rights to compensate the Montana Power Company for their 21,027 acres of inholdings in the Lolo National Forest.

Dr. Wright teaches courses in environmental planning, environmental law and regulation, cultural geography, and conservation planning. He is the author of four books on resource policies, conservation planning, and some 114 articles and research reports.

Recent Projects, include the following in which Dr. Wright served as principal or co-principal investigator

• Rattlesnake Wilderness and National Recreation Area Project resulting in transfer of 21,027 acres of power company holdings in the Rattlesnake watershed. USDA Forest Service.
• Land Conservation Strategy. Developed strategic plan for long-term conservation plan. Mapped ecological, recreational, historic, and open space attributes and worked with the county and its residents to resolve conflicting visions of what portions of the landscape should be conserved. Missoula County, MT
• Conservation Easements - Western Montana and other Western States. 100+ conservation easements in Missoula, Granite, Ravalli, Lewis and Clark, Lake, and other states and counties in the Western U.S. Projects are based on resolving conflicting visions for the future use of the landscape. Conservation restrictions on subdivision, mining, timber management, and commercial development are based on a conversation between the receiving agency or land trust and the landowner. In many cases, the ranches involved include federal leases on National Forest land.

Larry Van Tassell is a nationally recognized leader in the field of rangeland and agricultural economics. Dr. Van Tassell is both a professor and department head at the University of Idaho-Moscow, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, and a Resource Dimensions senior agricultural economist associate.

Dr. Van Tassell has over 25 years of experience in the field of range economics, production economics, and farm and ranch management. He is considered one of the nation’s leading rangeland economists and has conducted numerous studies and economic analyses on state and federal policies and programs related to grazing and the management of state and federal lands. His primary areas of expertise over the past several decades has centered on state and federal lands grazing policies, private grazing leases, grazing systems, livestock production systems, multi-species grazing, strategic planning, and scenario analysis.

Larry has worked across the Western states and has carried out a variety of studies for both state and federal agencies. Recent clients include those as the Wyoming State Land Commission, BLM, USDA Forest Service, as well as several state and county-based resource agencies. Early in his professional career, Dr. Van Tassell was also a ranch manager and beef herdsman in Utah.

Some of Dr. Van Tassell’s recent projects include:

• Washington State DNR Grazing Lands Program Audit & Cost-Benefit Analysis (Resource Dimensions).
• United States Grasslands and Related Resources: An Economic and Biological Trends Assessment. Joint with Texas A&M University and Colorado State University, this project assessed the economic and biological implications regarding grassland trends in the United States. The analysis, conducted for USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Cattleman’s Association and The Nature Conservancy was used to develop legislation to protect grasslands.
• Economic Assessment of the Impact on Ranchers in Southeast Wyoming from Listing the Colorado Butterfly Plant. Conducted analysis on the potential economic impacts associated with endangered species act designation of critical habitat for the Colorado Butterfly Plant (US Fish & Wildlife Service).
• Conducted economic valuation of grazing use on public lands in western U.S.
• Assessment of drivers of change for Colorado’s grazing lands.
• Assessed social and economic impacts of public lands policy across the western U.S..
• Conducted policy review of Wyoming’s State Trust Land grazing lease practices (Wyoming State Land Commission).

Joanne Vining is an associate professor of environmental psychology at University of Illinois, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, and a senior resource social scientist with Resource Dimensions on the USDA Forest Service Content Analysis project.

Dr. Vining has over 20 years experience as an environmental psychologist and has conducted extensive applied research employing principles of psychology and sociology in assessing various resource policy issues. Her current work focuses on emotional components of environmental cognition, the collection and interpretation of public input to environmental cognition, the collection and interpretation of public input to environmental management and policy decisions, social content analysis, and visual impact assessment.

Dr. Vining’s project work covers a variety of topics including environmental decision-making, perception and construction of environmental quality, public involvement, conservation behavior, and human-animal interactions and has largely been dedicated to providing qualitative data analysis and related services to federal, state, and local resource management agencies. She works frequently with clients including the USDA Forest Service, for whom she has conducted and reviewed dozens of social assessment and content analysis projects. She has also conducted similar projects for agencies as the National Park Service, State Parks, Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources, and the State of Illinois Office of Solid Waste Research.

Dr. Vining’s recent projects include:

• Fuels Management Integrated Public Response System. Co-Principal Investigator (with Terry C. Daniel, University of Arizona, and Brian Orland, Penn State University). Developed and tested an integrated system for determining public response to fuels management options (Joint Fire Science Program, USDA Forest Service).
• Qualitative Analysis of Human Responses to Wildfire Management Options and Qualitative Analyses of Perceived Effects, Risks, and Emotions (USDA Forest Service).
• Shawnee National Forest Public Involvement Plan. Developed and implemented public involvement instrument for the Shawnee National Forest, (USDA Forest Service, North Central Forest Experiment Station).
• Content Analysis of Public Comments on Hoosier National Forest Management Plan. Conducted research, coding, data analysis, and report preparation to produce the technical report Perceptions and Values Reflected in Public Responses to Forest Management Plan, Hoosier National Forest (USDA Forest Service).
• Personal Environmental Background Assessment Instrument. Conducted research and developed assessment system to evaluate human dimensions of environmental understandings. Project included investigation of the physical, biological, sociological, psychological, cultural, and economic aspects of communities and individuals in relation to the use and appreciation of natural resources. (USDA Forest Service).
• Comparative Analysis of Visitor Photography. Conducted research and all aspects of qualitative analysis to produce report Comparison of Visitor-Employed Photography of Urban and Rural Residents (USDA Forest Service).

J.D. Wulfhorst is an assistant professor of Rural Sociology in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology at the University of Idaho, and a senior social scientist associate with Resource Dimensions. Dr. Wulfhorst has also served as Director and Principal Investigator of the Social Science Research Unit since 2000.

Dr. Wulfhorst has worked as a social science researcher and statistician for 16 years. His work focuses on risk perception calculations, sustainable energy and communities, economic development, and changing patterns of land-use in the western United States. He has recently co-edited and authored two recent books dealing with global citizenship and ecological justice based on work with international colleagues.

J.D. has a breadth of experience with a variety of data collection methods, including qualitative and quantitative techniques. Under his direction at SSRU, the Unit has successfully completed 63 projects for a wide range of clients including government agencies, special interest organizations, and community-based leadership groups. In the field of survey research, he has contributed to the development of mixed-method approaches to offer innovative designs. His projects have been funded by federal agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration, USDA Forest Service, BLM, and US Department of Agriculture, Idaho and Washington State Department of Transportation, the Inland Northwest Research Alliance, and numerous other regional and governmental entities.

Recent Projects, include the following in which Dr. Wulfhorst has served as principal or co-principal investigator:

• The Green Industry in Idaho. Project assessed the economic impact of horticulture and landscape architecture businesses on Idaho’s economy in 2000 and 2005. The industry has become part of Idaho’s shift from production and extraction of resources toward a more diverse economic portfolio, including service amenities, rural enhancement planning, and tourism development, and rural enhancement planning and contributes significantly to the states economy. (Idaho Nursery and Florists Advisory Committee (INFAC).
• 2005 Annual Farm Workers Prevailing Wage Survey. Conducted annually for period between 2001 and 2005 to determine the prevailing wage rate for for domestic Idaho farm workers related to irrigation activities and other farm activities in the following year. The wage rate derived from the survey is considered when determining the pay rate to the contract workers through the federal H2A program, Alien Prevailing Wage. (Idaho Department of Commerce and Labor).
• Environmental Justice Analysis and technical report preparation for SR28 Eastside Corridor transportation improvement project in East Wenatchee, WA. (FHWA and Washington State Department of Transportation).