Report Authors and Contributors

At USU, Dr. Martin teaches classes related to air quality and air pollution control. He has led or collaborated on air pollutant research which has included, among other studies, investigations in to the composition, sources, and photochemical formation of PM2.5, wintertime ozone formation in Utah’s oil and gas regions, the atmospheric behavior and sources of gas-phase ammonia, on-road vehicular emissions, air pollutant emissions from agricultural crop and animal production facilities, regional transport of air pollutants over the Colorado Plateau, and biogenic emissions of various hydrocarbons.

Dr. Robert R. Gillies is the Director of the Utah Climate Center at Utah State University (USU) and State Climatologist for the State of Utah. He is an associate professor in meteorology and geography in the Department of Plants, Soils and Climate at USU. His research focuses on land surface processes and remote sensing integrating the fields to study various aspects of the earth's environments.

Recent research projects have been concerned with impervious surface area analysis in Logan, Utah, the spatial analysis of vector-borne disease outbreaks like West Nile virus, the linked micromaps of chronic wasting disease in mule deer, and plant phenology in the timing of tree budburst within urban environments.

Dr. Seth Lyman directs Utah State University’s Bingham Entrepreneurship & Energy Research Center, located in Vernal, and is a Research Associate Professor in USU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He has a doctoral degree in Environmental Science and Health, and his expertise is in atmospheric measurements, instrumentation, and analysis. Research at the Bingham Center focuses on the environmental outcomes of energy production, especially air quality impacts from oil and gas development. Dr. Lyman and his colleagues at the Bingham Center have carried out projects to quantify emissions of organic compounds from various oil and gas sources, understand the conditions that lead to wintertime ozone production in the Rocky Mountain region, and develop computer models of atmospheric emissions and air quality.

Jordan W. Smith is the Director of the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism at Utah State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management with minors in both Geospatial Information Systems and Sociology from NC State. Jordan completed both his master’s and undergraduate degrees from Utah State University. Jordan's work uses social media analytics and geospatial technologies to develop an understanding of how outdoor recreation is changing across the American West. His goal is to provide natural resource professionals, elected officials, private industry, and the general public with a scientifically grounded understanding of how to best manage outdoor recreation. Off-campus, Jordan is an active road cyclist and triathlete.

Anna's research interests focus on human-environment interactions, within the context of outdoor recreation. She studies human-wildlife interactions, visitor use and impact management, and public participation in scientific research. She has conducted social science and ecological research both in the US and internationally.

Chase Lamborn is a Research Associate/Ph.D. Student in the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism. Much of his time is spent developing, coordinating, and reporting the Institute’s research. Chase has worked on a variety of research from monitoring fish habitat in the Columbia River Basin to studying the visitation, attitudes, and management preferences of people who recreate on public lands.

Aside from research, Chase has worked for the USDA Forest Service, spending most of his time on the Moab-Monticello Ranger District of the Manti-La Sal National Forest. He received a bachelor’s degree in Recreation Resource Management from Utah State University, and he later returned to further his education by earning a master’s degree in Human Dimensions of Ecosystem Science and Management. Outside of the office, Chase spends a great deal of time with his wife, friends, and family traveling throughout the West climbing, fishing, viewing wildlife, and exploring.

Christopher Monz is a Professor of Recreation Resources Management in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University. Chris joined the USU faculty in 2007, having previously been an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at St. Lawrence University in New York, the Academic Dean of Sterling College in Vermont and the Research Director for the National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming. He holds a PhD in Natural Resource Management (Colorado State University) an MS in plant ecology (University of Maine) and BA in biology (SUNY New Paltz). He has taught courses in outdoor recreation management, ecological impacts of recreation, nature-based tourism, interpretation and outdoor education.

His research specialty is recreation ecology with current research interests focusing on the integration of biophysical science, soil science, and park planning approaches. He has also worked extensively on recreation disturbance in arctic and alpine ecosystems and on park transportation management issues. Chris has served as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator on over $4.5M funded research from the National Science Foundation, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Paul Sarbanes Transit in Parks Program. He has worked extensively in the US including Alaska and internationally in Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Australia as and was a Fullbright Scholar for the 2013-14 academic year in Norway. He is the co-author of the textbook Wildland Recreation: Ecology and Management published in 2015. Chris is an active mountaineer, runner and skier and has worked as an environmental educator, ranger, and climbing instructor.

Dr. Wayne Freimund is a professor in the Department of Environment ans Society. He is an expert in outdoor recreation, and teaches classes on recreation policy and planning at Utah State University – Moab. During his career, Freimund has conducted research in southern Utah at both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Prior to joining USU, Freimund served at Clemson University as a professor and chair of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Before his time at Clemson, Freimund was a professor for 23 years at the University of Montana. While at Montana, he served as interim dean of the College of Forestry and Conservation for two years and was the director of the UM Wilderness Institute for nine years. Freimund has a bachelor’s in recreation, park and leisure studies from the University of Minnesota. He earned a master’s in wild land management from West Virginia University and a doctorate in forestry and recreation resource management from the University of Minnesota.