Hillside of the Cotoni Coast Dairies onshore unit of the California Coastal National Monument. Prior to becoming a monument, parts of the landscape like those seen here degraded as a result of human development and invasive species. Monument managers are now looking to incorporate the best available science into their restoration plans.
Sarah Whipple, PhD
Sarah Whipple is a biologist at the Fort Collins Science Center, whose interests lie in conservation, policy, and community ecology, as well as natural resource management and pollinator biology.
Sarah is interested in how we can manage landscapes amongst the world's most pressing challenges, including biodiversity loss, invasive species encroachment, and climate change. She is motivated in finding nature-based, research-oriented solutions that are tangible for land managers to implement. Sarah joined the USGS in 2023 and is currently working in the Carter research group on the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (NC CASC) Structured Science Syntheses project. This effort will better inform how land managers integrate climate change into the resource management decision-making process. She is also contributing to science plans for the Bureau of Land Management's National Landscape Conservation System, which are used to prioritize science needs and manage resources effectively.
Science and Products
Developing habitat models for rare plants to inform decision making on multiple-use public lands
Public lands provide important habitat for many rare plants. However, public lands often need to accommodate many other uses, including traditional and renewable energy development, in addition to conservation. We are working with the Bureau of Land Management to coproduce ensemble habitat suitability models that can inform agency planning and permitting decisions that may impact rare plants.
Developing structured science syntheses for use in NEPA analyses and decision making in the Bureau of Land Management
Science information is fundamental to understanding how proposed actions on public lands may impact the environment. However, agencies often have limited time to compile and synthesize existing science. We are working with land management agencies to develop a new type of science product—structured science syntheses—for facilitating use of the science information in public lands decisions.
Developing Science Plans for the Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System
The Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System seeks to conserve, protect, and restore nationally significant landscapes. Science is a critical piece of this effort. The US Geological Survey is working with the Bureau of Land Management to develop Science Plans to help prioritize and support science efforts to better understand and manage resources in these landscapes.
Developing science syntheses to facilitate climate-informed land management decisions and NEPA analyses on rangelands in the sagebrush biome
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal public land managers to assess potential environmental impacts of proposed actions. The USGS, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado State University, and North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center are working together to develop science syntheses that can facilitate considerations of climate change in...
Short Science Syntheses and NEPA Analyses for Climate-Informed Land Management Decisions in Sagebrush Rangelands
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages the largest area of public lands in the United States. Decision-making on BLM lands is complex because managers have to balance diverse, sometimes conflicting, resources, uses, and values. Land managers are more likely to achieve long-term land management goals and balance multiple desired uses and values across public landscapes when their decisions are
Hillsides invaded by nonnative plants in Cotoni Coast Dairies
Hillside of the Cotoni Coast Dairies onshore unit of the California Coastal National Monument. Prior to becoming a monument, parts of the landscape like those seen here degraded as a result of human development and invasive species. Monument managers are now looking to incorporate the best available science into their restoration plans.
View of the Pacific Ocean from Cotoni Coast Dairies
View of the Pacific Ocean from the Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coast National Monument.
View of the Pacific Ocean from the Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coast National Monument.
Cotoni-Coast Dairies Retired Mine
For most of the 1900s, sections of the Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coast National Monument were mined for limestone and shale. Minerals were transported to the cement plant from the top of quarries through conveyer belts like this one.
For most of the 1900s, sections of the Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coast National Monument were mined for limestone and shale. Minerals were transported to the cement plant from the top of quarries through conveyer belts like this one.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
The spectacular Mojave Desert landscapes within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area draw millions of visitors each year.
The spectacular Mojave Desert landscapes within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area draw millions of visitors each year.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
The spectacular Mojave Desert landscapes within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area draw millions of visitors each year.
The spectacular Mojave Desert landscapes within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area draw millions of visitors each year.
Science and Products
Developing habitat models for rare plants to inform decision making on multiple-use public lands
Public lands provide important habitat for many rare plants. However, public lands often need to accommodate many other uses, including traditional and renewable energy development, in addition to conservation. We are working with the Bureau of Land Management to coproduce ensemble habitat suitability models that can inform agency planning and permitting decisions that may impact rare plants.
Developing structured science syntheses for use in NEPA analyses and decision making in the Bureau of Land Management
Science information is fundamental to understanding how proposed actions on public lands may impact the environment. However, agencies often have limited time to compile and synthesize existing science. We are working with land management agencies to develop a new type of science product—structured science syntheses—for facilitating use of the science information in public lands decisions.
Developing Science Plans for the Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System
The Bureau of Land Management’s National Landscape Conservation System seeks to conserve, protect, and restore nationally significant landscapes. Science is a critical piece of this effort. The US Geological Survey is working with the Bureau of Land Management to develop Science Plans to help prioritize and support science efforts to better understand and manage resources in these landscapes.
Developing science syntheses to facilitate climate-informed land management decisions and NEPA analyses on rangelands in the sagebrush biome
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal public land managers to assess potential environmental impacts of proposed actions. The USGS, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado State University, and North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center are working together to develop science syntheses that can facilitate considerations of climate change in...
Short Science Syntheses and NEPA Analyses for Climate-Informed Land Management Decisions in Sagebrush Rangelands
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages the largest area of public lands in the United States. Decision-making on BLM lands is complex because managers have to balance diverse, sometimes conflicting, resources, uses, and values. Land managers are more likely to achieve long-term land management goals and balance multiple desired uses and values across public landscapes when their decisions are
Hillsides invaded by nonnative plants in Cotoni Coast Dairies
Hillside of the Cotoni Coast Dairies onshore unit of the California Coastal National Monument. Prior to becoming a monument, parts of the landscape like those seen here degraded as a result of human development and invasive species. Monument managers are now looking to incorporate the best available science into their restoration plans.
Hillside of the Cotoni Coast Dairies onshore unit of the California Coastal National Monument. Prior to becoming a monument, parts of the landscape like those seen here degraded as a result of human development and invasive species. Monument managers are now looking to incorporate the best available science into their restoration plans.
View of the Pacific Ocean from Cotoni Coast Dairies
View of the Pacific Ocean from the Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coast National Monument.
View of the Pacific Ocean from the Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coast National Monument.
Cotoni-Coast Dairies Retired Mine
For most of the 1900s, sections of the Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coast National Monument were mined for limestone and shale. Minerals were transported to the cement plant from the top of quarries through conveyer belts like this one.
For most of the 1900s, sections of the Cotoni-Coast Dairies unit of the California Coast National Monument were mined for limestone and shale. Minerals were transported to the cement plant from the top of quarries through conveyer belts like this one.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
The spectacular Mojave Desert landscapes within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area draw millions of visitors each year.
The spectacular Mojave Desert landscapes within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area draw millions of visitors each year.
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area
The spectacular Mojave Desert landscapes within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area draw millions of visitors each year.
The spectacular Mojave Desert landscapes within Red Rock Canyon National Conservation area draw millions of visitors each year.
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government