Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Cara V Applestein

I am a quantitative ecologist using Bayesian methods to understand landscape recovery after fire in sagebrush-steppe ecosystems.

Throughout my career, I've sought to bridge the gap between restoration practitioners and scientists by working closely with land managers to provide science and predictive models useful for understanding the efficacy of restoration practices. Before working for USGS, I was a conservation project manager for the Center for Natural Land Management where I worked closely with land managers to research the efficacy of different seeding methods and prescribed fire regimes for restoring wet prairie in western Washington. My current research focuses on understanding weather effects on post-fire vegetation recovery, understanding mechanisms of invasion, and determining the utility of remote sensing products for land management decision.