Clara Buchholz

Ph.D. Student
Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
clarabuchholtz@u.boisestate.edu
Research Gate Profile
Twitter: @Invertegreat
Instagram: @salticusscenicus

Ph.D. student researching the conservation of desert ecosystems and rare and endemic plants.
I use remote sensing and GIS, fieldwork, and a social-ecological-systems framework to think about how climate adaptation can give ecosystems a resilient future with climate change.

Advisor: Dr. Kelly Hopping

Education 
California State University, Chico: MS Biology
Wellesley College: BA Neuroscience, German

Background
I grew up in Chico, CA at the edge of the Sierra-Cascade foothills. I am now delighted to have the Boise Foothills at my doorstep, and enjoy going trail running, bird watching, and getting to know the local plants and wildlife. In my free time you can also find me volunteering at the Idaho Botanical Gardens, playing violin with the Boise Community Orchestra, or vegetable gardening.

Awards/Honors/Grants
Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center Fellow (2020)
Svalbard Science Forum Arctic Field Grant (2019)

Research Interests

Desert ecosystems such as the Owyhee Mountains of southern Idaho are home to numerous rare and endemic plants. While these plants have often thrived as specialists in unique habitats, threats from land use changes, invasive species, and climate change put their future in jeopardy. My research leverages remote sensing and GIS, fieldwork, and a social-ecological-systems framework to investigate ways that management strategies can give rare plants a resilient future. My current projects include a partnership with the Idaho BLM to map the distribution and impacts of informal motorized trail networks on Mulford’s milkvetch (Astragalus mulfordiae), a rare and threatened plant endemic to southwestern Idaho and eastern Oregon. This research and further training in climate adaptation work is supported by the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, and NSF Idaho EPSCoR.

I also have a longtime interest in teaching and community engagement, and have enjoyed past work as an instructor for the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources California Naturalist Program, through which I received training in the Project WET and Project Learning Tree curricula. At Boise State I was funded through NSF Idaho EPSCoR to develop an undergraduate lab module to teach students about remote sensing. This lab module teaches students how to use Google Earth and Google Earth Engine to investigate local conservation questions, and has been implemented in a Boise State introductory ecology lab since the fall of 2019. I am currently engaged in expanding this project through formats designed to connect undergraduate students to the original research process, including a Vertically Integrated Project (VIP) course that began in the spring of 2020.