John R. Probst

Title: Research Ecologist
Unit: Institute for Applied Ecosystem Studies: Theory and Application of Scaling Science in Forestry
Previous Unit: Principles of Landscape Ecology for Managing Temporate Ecosystems
Address: Northern Research Station
5985 Highway K
Rhinelander, WI 54501-9128
Phone: 715-362-1156
E-mail: Contact John R. Probst

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Education

• Princeton Univ., Ph.D., 1976
• Penn State Univ., M.Sc, 1972
• Lake Forest College, B.A., 1968

Current Research

I am interested in the interface between research and applications of conservation biology and integrated natural resource management at continental to local scales. The best way to resolve this conflict is to establish the broadest possible context of natural resource issues and spatial scales so that planners and scientists can target multiple objectives to appropriate ecosystem capabilities and diverse ownership mandates. The solutions to these problems are more conceptual and strategic than technical or mathematical. Most of this research has concerned rangewide species conservation assessments of birds, so that local research and planning can quantify, for example, the proportion of total species distribution or habitat area in a specific region or locality. The broader scope and scale of the combined Northern Research Station should facilitate the appreciation and need for regional, national, and continental scales of assessment, rather than only traditional landscape-local analyses.

Why is This Important

Research applications useful to managers often have been hampered by scientists' training and rewards for maximum precision versus practitioners' needs for generality. Ecological models such as wildlife habitat suitability or growth and yield models cannot be readily transferred to other places and times because of ecological heterogeneity and geographic variability. Diverse resource outputs require broad spatial planning to utilize the full range of land capabilities and the whole continuum of land uses (intensive use to preservation).

Future Research

In the near future, I hope to finish a midwestern openland bird assessment and initiate a Lake States openlands assessment of plant and wildlife species of concern

Featured Publications

Additional Online Publications