Steven E Hanser
Since 2019, Steve has served as the Deputy Center Director of the Fort Collins Science Center.
Biography
Steve Hanser has served as the Deputy Center Director of the Fort Collins Science Center since 2019. Before his current position at the Fort Collins Science Center, Steve was the Sagebrush Ecosystem Program Specialist in the Ecosystems Mission Area where he led the USGS effort to provide research and technical assistance on sage-grouse and sagebrush ecosystem management to the Department of the Interior, DOI bureaus, State wildlife agencies, and other partners. This work focused on inter-agency coordination, setting multi-agency research priorities, developing high-profile information syntheses, increasing outreach and communication opportunities, and improving multi-agency data sharing tools. Prior to his position in Reston, Steve spent 13 years working in the field at the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center in Boise, ID where he focused on using geospatial tools and field-based measures to improve the understanding of the multi-scale environmental drivers of wildlife populations.
Experience
- Deputy Center Director, Fort Collins Science Center, U. S. Geological Survey, Ft. Collins, CO: June 2019 - Present
- Chief, Ecosystem and Landscape Dynamics Research Branch (Acting), U. S. Geological Survey, Ft. Collins, CO: July 2019 - Present
- Chief, Decision Support Science and Tools Branch (Acting), U. S. Geological Survey, Ft. Collins, CO: April 2019 - June 2020
- Sagebrush Ecosystem Program Specialist (Acting), U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA: June 2019 - Sept 2019
- Sagebrush Ecosystem Program Specialist, U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA: January 2015 – June 2019
- Wildland Fire Science Coordinator (Acting), U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA: July 2014 - Oct 2014
- Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Boise, ID: 2002-2015
- Biological Science Technician, , U.S. Geological Survey, Boise, ID: 2002
- GIS Intern, City of Pocatello, Pocatello, ID: 2002
- Graduate Research Assistant, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID: 1999–2002
- Research Technician, Iowa State University, Ames, IA: 1998-1999
- Undergraduate Research Assistant, Iowa Cooperative Research Unit, Ames, IA: 1998-1999
Education
- M.S. Biology, Idaho State University, 2002
- Geotechnologies Post-baccalaureate Certification, Idaho State University, 2002
- B.S. Biology, Iowa State University, 1999
Science and Products
USGS Cool Tools for Hot Topics
The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area hosted an interactive session at the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies 2018 Annual Meeting that featured USGS science-based tools and approaches to address a variety of fish and wildlife management hot topics, including how and when to apply them to specific...
Energy Development and Changing Land Uses
Applied research and integrated regional assessments emphasize spatially explicit analyses of ecosystem components affected by energy development and land-use change in the western United States. Topics include sagebrush-steppe ecology; sagebrush habitat assessments; the effets of human activities (including energy development, transportation, and recreation) on habitats and wildlife behavior...
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI)
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) addresses effects of land-use and climate changes on Southwest Wyoming’s natural resources. In partnership with twelve Federal, State, and local natural resource agencies, and non-governmental organizations– FORT and ten other USGS centers are conducting dozens of integrated science projects to assess the status of Southwest Wyoming’s...
SAGEMAP
A GIS Database for Sage-grouse and Shrubsteppe Management in the Intermountain West
Raster digital data sets identifying a range-wide network of priority areas for greater sage-grouse
We used graph theory, representing priority areas as spatially distributed nodes interconnected by movement corridors, to understand the capacity of priority areas to function as connected networks in the Bi-State, Central, and Washington regions of the Greater Sage-Grouse range.
New Rangeland Fire Science Plan Essential for Sage-Grouse, Sagebrush Conservation and Restoration
Plan also addresses other rangeland threats