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Amanda E Cravens, Ph.D.

Amanda Cravens is a Research Social Scientist at the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Amanda's interdisciplinary research interests include the translation of scientific information into decision making, policies and institutions that influence environmental management, and understanding the cognitive and social processes that make decision support tools work effectively. Amanda's disciplinary training includes geography, policy/institutional analysis, and the learning sciences. Her research spans resource areas, with recent and current projects focusing on decision support for coastal hazards, human dimensions of ecological drought, socioeconomic aspects of water availability, and land manager decision making in the face of ecological transformation. She is also very interested in the practice of interdisciplinary science and has served as a member of multiple working groups as well as published on the role of creativity in science.

Professional Experience

  • Research Social Scientist, USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, OR (2023-present)

  • Research Social Scientist, USGS Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO (2017-2023)

  • Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow (Social Science), USGS Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO (2015-2017)

  • Early Career Fellow, Gould Center for Conflict Resolution, Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA (2014-2015)

  • Dachs Fellow, Stanford Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (2009-2014)

  • Information Architect and Web Editor, SustainAbility Ltd, London UK (2008-2009)

  • Fulbright Graduate Fellow (New Zealand) (2006-2008)

  • Internet Coordinator, Resources for the Future, Washington DC (2005-2007)

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. Environment and Resources, Stanford University, 2014

  • M.A. Geography, University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand), 2008

  • B.A. History, Swarthmore College, 2004

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center, Fort Collins, CO (2015 to present)

Science and Products

Filter Total Items: 22

Assessing the feasibility of managed aquifer recharge in California

With aquifers around the world stressed by over-extraction, water managers are increasingly turning to managed aquifer recharge (MAR), directly replenishing groundwater resources through injection wells, recharge basins, or other approaches. While there has been progress in understanding the geological and infrastructure-related considerations to make MAR more effective, critical evaluations of it
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Resist-accept-direct (RAD)-A framework for the 21st-century natural resource manager

An assumption of stationarity—i.e. “the idea that natural systems fluctuate within an unchanging envelope of variability” (Milly et al. 2008)—underlies traditional conservation and natural resource management, as evidenced by widespread reliance on ecological baselines to guide protection, restoration, and other management. Although ecological change certainly occurred under the relatively stable
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Identifying characteristics of actionable science for drought planning and adaptation: Final report to the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center

Changing climate conditions can make water management planning and drought preparedness decisions more complicated than ever before. Resource managers can no longer rely solely on historical data and trends to base their actions, and are in need of science that is relevant to their specific needs and can directly inform important planning decisions. Questions remain, however, regarding the most ef
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Intermountain west drought social science synthesis working group: Report to the National Climate Adaptation Science Center

Throughout the Intermountain West, there has been significant investment in understanding how social factors influence manager and citizen experiences of drought in particular locations. Yet there is still a gap in knowledge of how human dimensions of drought impacts, planning, and resilience are similar and different across cases and regions. Building on the natural science understanding develope
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Planning for ecological drought: Integrating ecosystem services and vulnerability assessment

As research recognizes the importance of ecological impacts of drought to natural and human communities, drought planning processes need to better incorporate ecological impacts. Drought planning currently recognizes the vulnerability of some ecological impacts from drought (e.g., loss of instream flow affecting fish populations). However, planning often does not identify all the ecological aspect
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Fort Collins Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

How and why Upper Colorado River Basin land, water, and fire managers choose to use drought tools (or not)

On the Western Slope of Colorado, variable climate and precipitation conditions are typical. Periods of drought—which may be defined by lack of water, high temperatures, low soil moisture, or other indicators—cause a range of impacts across sectors, including water, land, and fire management.The Western Slope’s Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) was one of the first pilot areas in which the Nationa
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Rivers are social–ecological systems: Time to integrate human dimensions into riverscape ecology and management

Incorporation of concepts from landscape ecology into understanding and managing riverine ecosystems has become widely known as riverscape ecology. Riverscape ecology emphasizes interactions among processes at different scales and their consequences for valued ecosystem components, such as riverine fishes. Past studies have focused strongly on understanding the ecological processes in riverscapes
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Ecological drought: Accounting for the non-human impacts of water shortage in the Upper Missouri Headwaters Basin, Montana, USA

Water laws and drought plans are used to prioritize and allocate scarce water resources. Both have historically been human-centric, failing to account for non-human water needs. In this paper, we examine the development of instream flow legislation and the evolution of drought planning to highlight the growing concern for the non-human impacts of water scarcity. Utilizing a new framework for ecolo
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Defining ecological drought for the 21st century

No abstract available.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Crossing boundaries in a collaborative modeling workspace

There is substantial literature on the importance of bridging across disciplinary and science–management boundaries. One of the ways commonly suggested to cross boundaries is for participants from both sides of the boundary to jointly produce information (i.e., knowledge co-production). But simply providing tools or bringing people together in the same room is not sufficient. Here we present a cas
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers
Filter Total Items: 15
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The Yampa River at Dinosaur National Monument.

How and Why Upper Colorado River Basin Land, Water, and Fire Managers Choose to Use Drought Tools (or Not)

Preparing for and responding to drought requires integrating scientific information into complex decision making processes. In recognition of this challenge, regional drought early warning systems (DEWS) and related drought-information tools have been developed under the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). Despite the existence of many tools and information sources, however...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center
link

How and Why Upper Colorado River Basin Land, Water, and Fire Managers Choose to Use Drought Tools (or Not)

Preparing for and responding to drought requires integrating scientific information into complex decision making processes. In recognition of this challenge, regional drought early warning systems (DEWS) and related drought-information tools have been developed under the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). Despite the existence of many tools and information sources, however...
Learn More
link
Upper Colorado River near Moab, Utah

How and Why Upper Colorado River Basin Land, Water, and Fire Managers Choose to Use Drought Tools

Preparing for and responding to drought requires integrating scientific information into complex decision making processes. In recognition of this challenge, regional drought early warning systems (DEWS) and related drought-information tools have been developed under the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). Despite the existence of many tools and information sources, however, th
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
link

How and Why Upper Colorado River Basin Land, Water, and Fire Managers Choose to Use Drought Tools

Preparing for and responding to drought requires integrating scientific information into complex decision making processes. In recognition of this challenge, regional drought early warning systems (DEWS) and related drought-information tools have been developed under the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). Despite the existence of many tools and information sources, however, th
Learn More
link
View looking up-stream toward Carraizo Dam, under drought conditions, 1994

Eco-drought Actionable Science Working Group

The USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) is currently engaged in an Ecological Drought initiative, focused on understanding the impacts of drought on natural ecosystems across the country. This project was designed to support the Ecological Drought initiative by creating a USGS EcoDrought Actionable Science Working Group. The goal of this working group was to identify
By
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
link

Eco-drought Actionable Science Working Group

The USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) is currently engaged in an Ecological Drought initiative, focused on understanding the impacts of drought on natural ecosystems across the country. This project was designed to support the Ecological Drought initiative by creating a USGS EcoDrought Actionable Science Working Group. The goal of this working group was to identify
Learn More

Science and Products

*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