Jill Baron, Ph.D.
Biography
Dr. Jill S. Baron is a senior scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, and a Senior Research Ecologist with the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University. Her interests include applying ecosystem concepts to management of human-dominated regions, and understanding the biogeochemical and ecological effects of climate change and atmospheric nitrogen deposition to mountain ecosystems.
She is founder and Co-Director of the John Wesley Powell Center for Earth System Science Analysis and Synthesis. She is the North American Director of the International Nitrogen Initiative. Baron was President of the Ecological Society of America in 2014, is a Certified Professional Ecologist, and a Fellow of the ESA. She was named a Woman of Vision in 2015 by Colorado Women of Influence for her work advancing women’s role in science. Baron is active in US National Climate Assessment efforts, has given testimony to Congress on western acid rain and climate change issues, and was Editor-in-Chief of Issues in Ecology, an Ecological Society of America publication for non-scientists from 2009-2012. She is founder and Principal Investigator of the Loch Vale Watershed long-term monitoring and research program in Rocky Mountain National Park, an instrumented catchment with 33 years of continuous records.
Education
- Ph.D. Ecosystem Ecology, Colorado State University, 1991
- M.S. Land Resources, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1979
- B.S. Plant Sciences, Cornell University, 1976
Professional Experience
- 2009-present Co-Director, John Wesley Powell Center for Earth System Science Analysis and Synthesis
- 2016-present Senior Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins CO
- 1996-2015 Research Ecologist; U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins, CO
- 1986-present Senior Research Scientist; Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO
- 2000-present Advising faculty, CSU Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
- 1993-1996 Research Ecologist; National Biological Service, Mountain Ecosystems Section, Fort Collins, CO
- 1976-1993 Research Biologist-National Park Service; Great Smoky Mountains National Park TN; Gulf Islands National Seashore MS; Water Resources Division, Washington D.C. and CO
Affiliations
- Present: Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, Senior Scientist
- Present: Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Advising Faculty
- Present: Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University, Faculty Affiliate
Science and Products
Ecological Forecasting Workshop
Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending changes in ecosystem dynamics (that is, the approaching near-term changes in ecosystems). Managers may use the information...
Accelerating changes and transformations in western mountain lakes
While research into eutrophication has been a cornerstone of limnology for more than 100 years, only recently has it become a topic for the remote alpine lakes that are icons of protected national parks and wilderness areas. National park lakes in the western U.S. are threatened by global change, specifically air pollution, warming, and their interactions, and the problem is quickly worsening...
The Western Mountain Initiative (WMI)
Western Mountain Initiative (WMI) is a long-term collaboration between FORT, WERC, NOROCK, USFS, NPS, LANL, and universities worldwide to address changes in montane forests and watersheds due to climate change. Current emphases include altered forest disturbance regimes (fire, die-off, insect outbreaks) and hydrology; interactions between plants, water, snow, nutrient cycles, and climate; and...
Western Mountain Initiative: Central Rocky Mountains
Mountain ecosystems of the western U.S. provide irreplaceable goods and services such as water, wood, biodiversity, and recreational opportunities, but their responses to global changes are poorly understood. The overarching objective of the Western Mountain Initiative (WMI) is to understand and predict the responses, emphasizing sensitivities, thresholds, resistance, and resilience, of...
Ecological forecasting—21st century science for 21st century management
Natural resource managers are coping with rapid changes in both environmental conditions and ecosystems. Enabled by recent advances in data collection and assimilation, short-term ecological forecasting may be a powerful tool to help resource managers anticipate impending near-term changes in ecosystem conditions or dynamics. Managers may use the...
Bradford, John B.; Weltzin, Jake F.; Mccormick, Molly; Baron, Jill; Bowen, Zack; Bristol, Sky; Carlisle, Daren; Crimmins, Theresa; Cross, Paul; DeVivo, Joe; Dietze, Mike; Freeman, Mary; Goldberg, Jason; Hooten, Mevin; Hsu, Leslie; Jenni, Karen; Keisman, Jennifer; Kennen, Jonathan; Lee, Kathy; Lesmes, David; Loftin, Keith; Miller, Brian W.; Murdoch, Peter; Newman, Jana; Prentice, Karen L.; Rangwala, Imtiaz; Read, Jordan; Sieracki, Jennifer; Sofaer, Helen; Thur, Steve; Toevs, Gordon; Werner, Francisco; White, C. LeAnn; White, Timothy; Wiltermuth, Mark
Key components and contrasts in the nitrogen budget across a US-Canadian transboundary watershed
Watershed nitrogen (N) budgets provide insights into drivers and solutions for groundwater and surface water N contamination. We constructed a comprehensive N budget for the transboundary Nooksack River Watershed (British Columbia, Canada, and Washington, USA) using locally derived data, national statistics, and standard parameters. Feed imports...
Lin, Jiajia; Compton, Jana; Clark, Chris; Bittman, Shabtai; Schwede, Donna; Homann, Peter; Kiffney, Peter; Hooper, David; Bahr, Gary; Baron, Jill Nutrients and warming interact to force mountain lakes into unprecedented ecological state
While deposition of reactive nitrogen (N) in the 20th century has been strongly linked to changes in diatom assemblages in high-elevation lakes, pronounced and contemporaneous changes in other algal groups suggest additional drivers. We explored the origin and magnitude of changes in two mountain lakes from the end of the Little Ice Age at ca....
Oleksy, Isabella A.; Baron, Jill; Leavitt, Peter; Spaulding, Sarah Understanding mountain lakes in a changing world: Introduction to the special issue
No abstract available.
Baron, Jill; Chandra, Sudeep; James J. Elser The Modern Geological Survey; a model for research, innovation, synthjesis: A USGS perspective
Geological Surveys have long filled the role of providing Earth system science data and knowledge. These functions are increasingly complicated by accelerating environmental and societal change. Here we describe the USGS response to these evolving conditions. Underpinning the USGS approach is the recognition that many of the issues facing the U....
Kimball, Suzette; Goldhaber, Martin B.; Baron, Jill; Labson, Victor F. Assessing the chemistry and bioavailability of dissolved organic matter from glaciers and rock glaciers
As glaciers thaw in response to warming, they release dissolved organic matter (DOM) to alpine lakes and streams. The United States contains an abundance of both alpine glaciers and rock glaciers. Differences in DOM composition and bioavailability between glacier types, like rock and ice glaciers, remain undefined. To assess differences in glacier...
Fegel, Timothy S.; Boot, Claudia M.; Broeckling, Corey D.; Baron, Jill; Hall, Edward K 2017 Monitoring and tracking wet nitrogen deposition at Rocky Mountain National Park
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), the National Park Service (NPS), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Nitrogen Deposition Reduction Plan (NDRP) in 2007 to address the effects and trends of nitrogen deposition at Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). The agencies chose a glidepath approach...
Kristi Morris; Mast, M. Alisa; Wetherbee, Gregory; Baron, Jill; Cheatham, Jim; Bromberg, Jim; Devore, Lisa; Hou, James; Gebhart, Kristi; Bell, Mike; Gay, David; Olson, Michael; Weinmann, Timothy; Bowker, Daniel Reducing wet ammonium deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park: The development and evaluation of a pilot early warning system for agricultural operations in eastern Colorado
Agricultural emissions are the primary source of ammonia (NH3) deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), a Class I area, that is granted special air quality protections under the Clean Air Act. Between 2014 and 2016, the pilot phase of the Colorado agricultural nitrogen early warning system (CANEWS) was developed for agricultural...
Pena, Aaron; Schumacher, Russ; Denning, Scott; Faulkner, William; Baron, Jill; Ham, Jay; Ojima, Dennis S.; Collett, Jeffrey Science needs for continued development of total nitrogen deposition budgets in the United States
The objectives of this white paper are to describe the state of the science with respect to total Nr deposition budgets in North America and the research needed to improve these budgets from both a measurement and modeling standpoint. The document is intended to serve as a plan for TDep research activities but also, more broadly, to provide...
Wetherbee, Gregory A.; Templar, Pamela H.; Richard V. Pouyat; Stephen M. Decina; Brian M. Kerschner; Thomas H. Whitlow; Pamela E. Padgett; Donna B. Schwede; Baron, Jill; Clow, David; Mast, Alisa; Sexstone, Graham A.; Kristi H. Morris Long-term nitrogen addition shifts the soil nematode community to bacterivore-dominated and reduces its ecological maturity in a subalpine forest
Nitrogen deposition from anthropogenic sources is a global problem that reaches even the most remote ecosystems. Responses belowground vary by ecosystem, and have feedbacks to geochemical processes, including carbon storage. A long-term nitrogen addition study in a subalpine forest has shown carbon loss over time, atypical...
Shaw, E. Ashley; Boot, Claudia M.; Moore, John C.; Wall, Diana H.; Baron, Jill Wanted: Future leaders for ESA
A scientific society like ESA is not just an office, nor an annual meeting, nor one or more journals, and it cannot operate without volunteer leadership. ESA is its members. It is the collective efforts of many individuals that create a vibrant organization. Members step forward in service to the society and to the community review journal...
Baron, Jill; Catherine O'Riordan Adding a nitrogen footprint to Colorado State University’s sustainability plan
As a large land grant university with more than 32,000 students, Colorado State University has both on-campus non-agricultural and agricultural sources of nitrogen (N) released to the environment. We used the Nitrogen Footprint Tool to estimate the amount of N released from different sectors of the university for the CSU 2014 academic year. The...
Kimiecik, Jacob; Baron, Jill; Weinmann, Timothy; Taylor, Emily
“How To” Webinar: Wednesday October 28, 2020
Dr. Jill Baron, co-Director of the Powell Center, will present a webinar on how to develop a strong proposal for 2022 Working Group consideration on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at 11:00 am MT/1:00 pm ET. The webinar is designed to provide insights to increase your understanding of the Powell Center and the proposal process. Join the webinar via Teams at:
Call for Proposals – John Wesley Powell Center
The John Wesley Powell Center for Earth System Science Analysis and Synthesis fosters innovative thinking in Earth system science through collaborative synthesis activities. This mission is driven by the recognition that synthesis is critical to solving complex problems facing Society.
Seminar Sept 17th at 1 pm ET - Climate Extremes and Irrigation Water Source and Use Dominate Water Storage Changes Monitored by GRACE Satellites in Major U.S. Aquifers
Join us online, Sept 17th at 1 pm ET, 11 MT - Join Microsoft Teams Meeting (...
New Blog on Critical research infrastructure: The importance of synthesis centers
A new blog on PARSEC website acknowledges collaboration with Powell Center.
Powell Center's Partnership with CUAHSI
We are pleased to anounce our partnership with CUAHSI to be a coordinating hub for the Critical Zone Collaborative Network.
Congratulations to the Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis Class of FY21 Working Group
The Powell Center is pleased to announce six new Working Groups for FY21 support.
New Publication: Critical research infrastructure: The importance of synthesis centers
Read Critical research infrastructure: The importance of synthesis centers by Alison Specht, Pedro Corrêa, Lee Belbin, Hank Loescher
discussing the importance of scentific research synthesis centers, including the John Wesley Powell Center.
Powell Center How to submit a proposal Webinar
Have you ever wondered how to submit a proposal to the John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis?
Are you unsure if your idea is right for the Powell Center?
Join us for a How-To Webinar, Wednesday October 30th, 2019 at 11 MT to hear about the Powell Center.
Long-term collaborative research helps Rocky Mountain National Park address nitrogen-based air pollution
This article is part of the Fall 2016 issue of the Earth Science Matters Newsletter.
Meltwater Characteristics of Western Mountain Glaciers and Rock Glaciers
This article is part of the Fall 2016 issue of the Earth Science Matters Newsletter.
Much Deserved Award Presented to Dr. Jill Baron
Every two years, the U.S. Geological Survey reviews top scientists for possible promotion to Senior Scientist (ST) - the highest level that a federal research scientist can achieve.