Lauren Hunt Profile

PhD Student
Department of Biological Sciences

Advisor: Vicken Hillis
Email: laurenhunt@u.boisestate.edu

• Agroecology
• Climate change adaptation
• Evidence-based decision-making
• Co-production of knowledge

I investigate how social systems shift in the context of climate change and how individuals and the environment intersect. Agriculture is the primary lens through which I view this intersection, but the current economic, political, and cultural climate also structures my work. I focus on modeling social network structures and overlaying those dynamics with spatial-temporal indicators of climate change to detect social-ecological interactions. Understanding how risk influences individual decision-making and, in turn, how resilience is affected by those decisions will inform these analyses.

I am interested in collaborating with a diversity of ranching and farming stakeholders as well as conservation and government organizations to tackle complex socio-environmental challenges. Currently, I am co-developing management techniques with ranchers and researchers to improve drought resilience on ranchlands in the High Divide region of the West.

• Heart of the Rockies Initiative
• Idaho Rangeland Conservation Partnership
• The High Divide Collaborative