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Sue Phillips

I've been with the USGS since 1997, working as a manager, supervisory biologist and now FRESC's Center Director. 

Before joining FRESC's management team, my research focused on the plant, soil, and physiological ecology of arid and semiarid ecosystems, primarily those of the southwestern U.S., but also Africa, the Middle East, Australia, Ecuador, and central Mexico. Before joining the USGS, I spent eight years as a Research Associate at the University of Utah, where I received my M.S. in Plant Physiological Ecology. I received my B.S. in Biology in 1986 from the University of Colorado and worked as a field and lab assistant, then Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sub-project manager, at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research.

Professional Experience

  • 2019-present:  Center Director, USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, OR

  • 2009-2019:  Aridlands Research Manager, USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis, OR

  • 2007-2009:  Supervisory Biologist, USGS Canyonlands Field Station, Moab, UT

  • 1997-2007: Biologist, USGS Canyonlands Field Station, Moab, UT

  • 1996-1997:  Biologist, National Park Service, Moab ,UT

  • 1996-1997: Research Associate, Biology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

  • 1989-1996:  Senior Research Specialist, Biology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City ,UT

  • 1985-1987: LTER Subproject Manager, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, CO

  • 1983-1985: Research Assistant, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, CO

Education and Certifications

  • M.S., Biology major with an emphasis in Plant Physiological Ecology,University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (1996) 

  • B.S., Environmental, Population and Organismal Biology major with an emphasis in Plant Ecology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (1986) 

Science and Products

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Greater Sage-grouse in the sunlight

Annotated Bibliography of Scientific Research on Greater Sage-Grouse

The greater sage-grouse has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents.
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Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Annotated Bibliography of Scientific Research on Greater Sage-Grouse

The greater sage-grouse has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents.
Learn More
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USGS science for a changing world

Conservation Issues for Sage-Grouse and Sagebrush Ecosystems

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are the most visible of >350 plant and wildlife species that depend on sagebrush. Their conservation status was determined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2010 to be warranted for listing but precluded by higher priorities. Habitat and population fragmentation, coupled with inadequate regulatory mechanisms to control development on public...
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Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center
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Conservation Issues for Sage-Grouse and Sagebrush Ecosystems

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are the most visible of >350 plant and wildlife species that depend on sagebrush. Their conservation status was determined by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2010 to be warranted for listing but precluded by higher priorities. Habitat and population fragmentation, coupled with inadequate regulatory mechanisms to control development on public...
Learn More

If you are unable to access or download a product, email fresc_outreach@usgs.gov a request, including the full citation, or call (541) 750-1030.

Filter Total Items: 31

Integrated rangeland fire management strategy actionable science plan completion assessment — Sagebrush and sage-grouse topic, 2015–20

Loss and degradation of sagebrush rangelands due to an accelerated invasive annual grass-wildfire cycle and other stressors are significant management, conservation, and economic issues in the western United States. These sagebrush rangelands comprise a unique biome spanning 11 states, support over 350 wildlife species, and provide important ecosystem services that include stabilizing the economie
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Integrated rangeland fire management strategy actionable science plan completion assessment—Fire topic, 2015–20

Loss and degradation of sagebrush rangelands due to an accelerated invasive annual grass-wildfire cycle and other stressors are significant management, conservation, and economic issues in the western United States. These sagebrush rangelands comprise a unique biome spanning 11 states, support over 350 wildlife species, and provide important ecosystem services that include stabilizing the economie
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Integrated rangeland fire management strategy actionable science plan completion assessment: Restoration topic, 2015–20

Loss and degradation of sagebrush rangelands due to an accelerated invasive annual grass-wildfire cycle and other stressors are substantial management, conservation, and economic issues in the western United States. These sagebrush rangelands comprise a unique biome spanning 11 states, support over 350 wildlife species, and provide important ecosystem services that include stabilizing the economie
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Integrated rangeland fire management strategy actionable science plan completion assessment: Invasives topic, 2015–20

Loss and degradation of sagebrush rangelands due to an accelerated invasive annual grass-wildfire cycle and other stressors are significant management, conservation, and economic issues in the western United States. These sagebrush rangelands comprise a unique biome spanning 11 states, support over 350 wildlife species, and provide important ecosystem services that include stabilizing the economie
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published from 2015 to 2019

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Integration and tradeoffs

Managing for sagebrush ecosystems that are resilient to disturbance and resistant to invasive plants often requires managers to make tough decisions in the face of considerable complexity and uncertainty. The deci¬sion making environment is often characterized by multiple management objectives, limited manage¬ment authorities and capabilities, dynamic ecosystems and plant communities, and uncertai
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Insights from long-term ungrazed and grazed watersheds in a salt desert Colorado Plateau ecosystem

Dryland ecosystems cover over 41% of the earth’s land surface, and living within these important ecosystems are approximately 2 billion people, a large proportion of whom are subsistence agropastoralists. Improper grazing in drylands can negatively impact ecosystem productivity, soil conservation, hydrologic processes, downstream water quantity and quality, and ultimately human health and economic
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published since January 2015

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Energy & Wildlife (unpublished), Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

The integrated rangeland fire management strategy actionable science plan

The Integrated Rangeland Fire Management Strategy (hereafter Strategy, DOI 2015) outlined the need for coordinated, science-based adaptive management to achieve long-term protection, conservation, and restoration of the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem. A key component of this management approach is the identification of knowledge gaps that limit implementation of effective strategies to meet
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program

Soil moisture and biogeochemical factors influence the distribution of annual Bromus species

Abiotic factors have a strong influence on where annual Bromus species are found. At the large regional scale, temperature and precipitation extremes determine the boundaries of Bromus occurrence. At the more local scale, soil characteristics and climate influence distribution, cover, and performance. In hot, dry, summer-rainfall-dominated deserts (Sonoran, Chihuahuan), little or no Bromus is foun
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

From bacteria to elephants: Effects of land-use legacies on biodiversity and ecosystem structure in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem: Chapter 8

Generally, ecological research has considered the aboveground and belowground components of ecosystems separately. Consequently, frameworks for integrating the two components are not well developed. Integrating the microbial components into ecosystem ecology requires different approaches from those offered by plant ecology, partly because of the scales at which microbial processes operate and part
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Pedological and geological relationships with soil lichen and moss distribution in the eastern Mojave Desert, CA, USA

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are ubiquitous in drylands globally. Lichens and mosses are essential biocrust components and provide a variety of ecosystem services, making their conservation and management of interest. Accordingly, understanding what factors are correlated with their distribution is important to land managers. We hypothesized that cover would be related to geologic and pedolo
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Brooks, J.R., Buchmann, N., Phillips, S.L., Ehleringer, B., Evans, R.D., Lott, M., Martinelli, L.A., Pockman, W.T., Sandquist, D.R., Sparks, J.P., Sperry, L., Williams, D., Ehleringer, J.R., 2002, Heavy and light beer- A carbon isotope approach to detect C4 carbon in beers of different origins, styles, and prices: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, v. 50, p. 6413-6418.
Ehleringer, J.R., Phillips, S.L., 1996, Ecophysiological factors contributing to the distributions of several Quercusspecies in the Intermountain West: Annales des Sciences Forestieres, v. 53, p. 291-302.
Ehleringer JR, Sandquist DR, Phillips SL. 1997. Burning coal seams in southern Utah: a natural system for studies of plant responses to elevated CO2. In: A. Raschi, F. Migleietta, R. Tugnetti and P. van Gardingen (eds), Plant Responses to Elevated CO2: Evidence from Natural Springs. Cambridge Univ Press. pp 56-68.
Ehleringer JR, Phillips SL. 1996. Ecophysiological factors contributing to the distributions of several Quercus species in the Intermountain West. Ann For. Sci. 53:291-302.
Lin G, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1996. Monsoonal precipitation responses of shrubs in a cold desert community on the Colorado Plateau. Oecologia 106:8-17.
Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1995. Limited uptake of summer precipitation by bigtooth maple (Acer grandidentatum Nutt.) and Gambel’s oak (Quercus gambelii Nutt.). Trees 9:214-219.
Schuster WSF, Sandquist DR, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1994. High levels of genetic variation in populations of four dominant aridland plant species in Arizona. J. of Arid Environ. 27:159-167.
Flanagan LB, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR, Lloyd J, Farquhar GD. 1994. Effect of changes in leaf water oxygen isotopic changes on discrimination against C18O16O during photosynthetic gas exchange. Aust. J. Plant Phys. 21:221-234.
Sandquist DR, Schuster WSF, Donovan LA, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1993. Differences in carbon isotope discrimination between seedlings and adults of southwestern desert perennial plants. Southwestern Nat. 38(3):212-217.
Schuster WSF, Phillips SL, Sandquist DR, Ehleringer JR. 1992. Heritability of carbon isotope discrimination in Gutierrezia microcephala (Asteraceae). Amer. J. Bot. 79(2):216-221.
Schuster WSF, Sandquist DR, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR. 1992. Comparisons of carbon isotope discrimination in populations of aridland plant species differing in lifespan. Oecologia 91:332-337.
Ehleringer JR, Phillips SL, Comstock JP. 1992. Seasonal variation in the carbon isotopic composition of desert plants. Functional Ecology 6:396-404.
Ehleringer JR, Phillips SL, Schuster WSF, Sandquist DR. 1991. Differential utilization of summer rains by desert plants. Oecologia 88(3): 430-434.
Phillips SL. 1996. Comparative water use patterns of Quercus gambelii and Acer grandidentatum in Red Butte Canyon, Utah. MS Thesis, University of Utah.
Pollak O, Phillips SL, Shaw K, Herger L. 1988. Procedures manual for plant community dynamics subproject. Long-Term Ecological Research Data Report 88/1, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Boulder, CO.
Flanagan LB, Phillips SL, Ehleringer JR, Lloyd J, Farquhar GD. 1994. Effect of changes in leaf water oxygen isotopic changes on discrimination against C18O16O during photosynthetic gas exchange. Aust. J. Plant Phys. 21:221-234.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

To request an interview, contact fresc_outreach@usgs.gov or call (541) 750-1030.

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headshot of Sue Phillips

New Center Director at the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

CORVALLIS, Ore. — The U.S. Geological Survey has selected Sue Phillips as the new center director of the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center. FRESC is headquartered in Corvallis, Oregon, with research offices in Corvallis; Boise, Idaho; Seattle, Washington; and Olympic National Park in Port Angeles, Washington.

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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Communications and Publishing
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Annotated Bibliography of Scientific Research on Greater Sage-Grouse Published

The U.S. Geological Survey has reviewed and summarized the substantial body of literature related to the conservation, management, monitoring, and...

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Annotated Bibliography: Research on Greater Sage-grouse since January 2015

The sheer number of scientific publications related to greater sage-grouse research can be a challenge for managers to navigate when updating plans...

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Science and Products