Geneva Chong is a Bureau Approving Official in the Office of Science Quality and Integrity.
Geneva Chong is an ecologist whose worldview is shaped by undergraduate training in plant genetics and traditional agricultural systems and graduate training in biology and landscape ecology. Before joining the Bureau Approving Official Team in 2021, her research examined the effects of climate and land-use change on ecological processes such as fire regimes, plant productivity, and wildlife migration. Earlier work ranged from testing methods to restore pinyon-juniper woodlands with native grass species in New Mexico to designing methods to quantify plant diversity and detect rare plant species. Geneva was born in New Hampshire, and she has been located in Jackson, Wyoming, since 2003.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. in Ecology, 2002, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. Dissertation: Multi-scale sampling of native and non-native plant diversity: examples of data analyses and applications.
M.S. in Biology, 1994, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico. Thesis: Recommendations to improve revegetation success in a piñon-juniper woodland in New Mexico: a hierarchical approach.
B.S. in Agriculture, 1991, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Science and Products
Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI)
Impacts of climate change on habitat quality: plant phenology interactions with animal use and fitness
Identification of Fire Refugia in Rocky Mountain Ecosystems of the U.S. and Canada: Development and Application of the Refugium Concept for Biodiversity Conservation over Large Spatial and Temporal Scales
Geneva Chong's Past Projects
Building Collaboration Between the North Central CSC and Regional Partners Through Liaison Teams
Continued Capacity Building in the North-Central U.S.: Tribal Engagement and PhenoCam Analysis
Science and Products
- Science
Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI)
The WLCI is a long-term science based effort to enhance aquatic and terrestrial habitats at a landscape scale in Southwest Wyoming, while facilitating responsible development.Impacts of climate change on habitat quality: plant phenology interactions with animal use and fitness
Weather and climate impact terrestrial wildlife habitat through their influences on plant productivity. Plant phenology – the timing of life-history events such as green-up, flowering and senescence – provides one indicator of the timing and magnitude of productivity. Changes and variability in plant phenology in space and time are indicators of habitat quality, which is a driver of fitness for...Identification of Fire Refugia in Rocky Mountain Ecosystems of the U.S. and Canada: Development and Application of the Refugium Concept for Biodiversity Conservation over Large Spatial and Temporal Scales
We described the climate space of fire regimes in northwestern North America (Whitman and others 2015), and we are refining an approach to identify fire refugia – areas that do not burn or burn with lower severity through multiple fire events. We continue our collaboration to test the function of refugia for biodiversity conservation under current and future climate and fire scenarios. We continue...Geneva Chong's Past Projects
These are Geneva Chong's past projects.Building Collaboration Between the North Central CSC and Regional Partners Through Liaison Teams
The North Central Climate Science Center (NC CSC) is committed to bringing the best possible climate science to bear in order to inform decisions made by Department of the Interior (DOI) planners and other land and resource managers across the country. To help accomplish this mission, key partnerships have been established between the NC CSC and the DOI Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCCs)Continued Capacity Building in the North-Central U.S.: Tribal Engagement and PhenoCam Analysis
Climate change is poised to alter natural systems, the frequency of extreme weather, and human health and livelihoods. In order to effectively prepare for and respond to these challenges in the north-central region of the U.S., people must have the knowledge and tools to develop plans and adaptation strategies. This project was a continuation of an effort begun in 2013 to build stakeholders’ capac... - Data
- Publications