A native of the Pacific Northwest, joined the faculty of the University of Idaho in 1997 to teach American government, environmental politics, and natural resource policy. In 2007 transferred to the College of Natural Resources to further research interests in the areas of public lands management and endangered species politics. The purpose of past and future research is to explain from a political science perspective how humankind manages the landscape on which we live, and how past choices and present options combine to shape future outcomes. Current research projects include the politics of wolf management in the Rocky Mountains, and the future of the hydropower system in the Columbia Basin. Previous research has included: collaborative hydropower relicensing, game theory and the management of the national forests, and a set of projects that explored the growing role played by native tribes in the management of natural resources. An interest in local land use management has meant past membership on the Board of Adjustment, City of Moscow, and current membership on the Zoning Commission, Latah County.