Stephen Handler

Title: Climate Change Specialist
Unit: Climate, Fire, and Carbon Cycle Sciences
Address: Northern Research Station
410 MacInnes Dr.
Houghton, MI 49931
Phone: 906-482-6303 x21
E-mail: Contact Stephen Handler

Jump to Publications

Education

• M.S. Resource Conservation (emphasis in International Conservation and Development), University of Montana
• B.A. Biology, Gustavus Adolphus College

Civic & Professional Affiliations

• Member, Society of Conservation Biology
• Chair, Ecological Footprint Committee of the Society for Conservation Biology

Current Research

As a scientist at the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science, my primary project will be to help develop the Northwoods Climate Change Response Framework. This effort will expand upon the Climate Change Response Framework at the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, building partnerships with six National Forests and other forest stakeholders from in Michigan and Minnesota.

Why is This Important

Climate change is going to have profound impacts on the forests in the Great Lakes region in the coming decades. New data and modeling approaches are continually expanding our understanding of what these changes might be. Forest managers need to be informed of the threats that climate change will pose to forest ecosystems, as well as management strategies that can help forests adapt to a changed climate. The NCCRF is a new model to connect climate science to forest management, which will hopefully serve as a model for climate change adaptation and mitigation both regionally and nationally.