Madeline Bunce

Field Technician

I graduated from Montana State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Biology where I fell in love with soil. I recently worked as a Soil Scientist for the Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest where I learned about the management of public lands and the soils that make them up.

Maggie Edwards

Field Technician

Maggie Edwards is an undergraduate student at Utah State University studying Ecology. She spends her summers engaged in fieldwork, where she loves learning everything she can about new landscapes and ecosystem and making connections with amazing people. Her passion is plants and she couldn't possibly pick a favorite one! Maggie is so happy to be part of the working lands crew!

Laboratory Technician

Amie is an undergraduate at Utah State University who is passionate about environmental science and conservation, and how relationships and education can catalyze lasting and meaningful change. In the summer, she enjoys reading outdoors and swimming in the lake, and can usually be found sitting around campfires roasting marshmallows (burnt to charcoal, of course).

Research Assistant

I am a research assistant here at WLC. I recently graduated from the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program at the University of Colorado Boulder. During my time at CU I was involved in a mix of ecology and STEM education research. My undergraduate thesis focused on the effects of apple orchards and various management practices on soil biogeochemistry in Boulder County. I am passionate about place-based science and science communication, as I believe it is imperative to connect the minds of land owners, scientists, and community members to make sustainable and meaningful impacts.

Founder and Lead Scientist

CV/Resume
As an ecologist and founder of WLC, my goal is to improve conservation of US wild and working landscapes by finding science-based solutions to management challenges that require collaborative action among stakeholders. I have over 20 years of experience in ecosystem management, restoration, and the links between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, and human well-being. I have worked in California grasslands, Australian working lands, the US Channel Islands, Alaska, and the US Intermountain West. For all of this work, I draw on ecological theory to inform field experiments and guide data syntheses, and draw on interdisciplinary experience to develop partnerships with landowners, managers, and other stakeholders leading to novel management outcomes.
Contact: kris@workinglandsconservation.org

Lead Soil Scientist

CV/Resume
Soil is my jam. Privileged to study soils for their own sake, I spent 7 years creating initial soil maps for desert soils in the San Rafael Swell and mountain soils in the Uintas with NRCS. Years of digging holes in the hot sun provided me with invaluable time to observe, question, and learn from the land and the way we manage it. I then worked for the USFS as Regional Soil Scientist for the Intermountain Region, gaining exposure to land management problems and solutions in UT, ID, and NV. I have also worked on projects such as oil & gas well pad reclamation in Wyoming, phosphorus pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, and soil health improvement projects in Uganda and Tanzania.
I believe that centering care of the land and care for people creates the best outcomes for all and believe that collaboration and communication are our best tools to achieve this.
Contact: kristi@workinglandsconservation.org

Team Mascot

As our team mascot, Kona is expert at boosting the mood in the office and on the range. Her primary responsibilities include taking naps, getting belly rubs, and being adorable. This seminal work is a major contribution to our study and support of working lands.

Field Work Scientist

CV/Resume
I have a habit of turning short walks into hours-long plant identification adventures! I’ve always been happiest outside, and what started as a curiosity about the plants around me grew into a passion for understanding how plant communities respond to disturbance and how science can support better land management.
As a Field Work Scientist with Working Lands Conservation, I work to connect ecological research with practical land management by collaborating with ranchers, landowners, and agency partners to understand their needs and develop research that addresses real-world challenges. My work includes leading field studies, coordinating research projects, training field crews, and collecting and analyzing vegetation and water quality data across working landscapes in the western U.S. I believe the most useful conservation science comes from combining rigorous research with collaboration and the expertise of those who know and manage these landscapes every day.
Contact: annie@workinglandsconservation.org

Field Technician

Heidi Kipp grew up in Utah and earned a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Utah Valley University. Before joining Working Lands Conservation as a Field Technician, she worked as an analytical chemist and conducted undergraduate research in entomology and evolutionary biology. Her field experience includes botanical surveys at Capitol Reef National Park, invasive species management with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, and training at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology.

Heidi is passionate about conservation ecology and believes that healthy ecosystems are built through thoughtful, collaborative land stewardship. She is especially interested in botany, entomology, and the ways Indigenous knowledge can inform sustainable land management. She hopes to build a career that bridges ecology, conservation research, and community stewardship.

Outside of work, Heidi enjoys spending time with family, hiking with her dog Abby, training in martial arts, and scuba diving.

GIS Analyst

Paige is a recent graduate of the Watershed Sciences department at Utah State University. She enjoys the field but specializes in GIS and is currently using remotely-sensed data to develop a protocol for long term riparian monitoring at the Three Creeks grazing allotment. She will also make you a map if you ask nicely. In her spare time, Paige uses geospatial data to research beaver-impacted riverscapes as well as statistical patterns and geomorphic changes in semi-arid streams. Apart from that, she waits for it to snow so she can go cross country skiing again.
Contact: paige@workinglandsconservation.org

Postdoctoral Research Associate

CV/Resume
Kendall is an ecologist with expertise in plant-soil interactions, microbial ecology, and soil carbon cycling. She has worked in a wide variety of ecosystems throughout the US, including mostly recently Southeastern deciduous forests and Midwestern tallgrass prairies. She is passionate about using rigorous science in conjunction with stakeholder partnerships to solve read-world environmental challenges. Kendall is excited to bring her research expertise to rangeland systems of the Intermountain West. In collaboration with the Lien lab at the University of Arizona, landowners, and conservation practitioners, she is working to identify the effects of restoration on carbon sequestration in rivers and streams on rangelands within Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. An important goal of this work is to quantify the potential economic value of carbon sequestration that can be expected from various riparian restoration practices using estimated carbon market prices.
Contact: bealsk@arizona.edu