Peter Breigenzer

Hometown: Glasgow, MT

M.S., School of Forest Resources

Advisors: Jay Wason and Jessica Leahy

Began Conservation Science NRT Program Fall 2021

 

Through my previous work experience, I have seen the diversity of values that guide natural resource management on local and regional scales. To effectively meet these values while also addressing climate change, we need integrated approaches that understand the social and ecological impacts of actions taken on the ground. In the NRT program, I want to strengthen my knowledge of tree ecophysiology and the human dimensions of forest management in order to improve silvicultural techniques and practices.

 

I received a BS in Organismal Biology and BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana in 2016. As an undergraduate, I conducted research on the genetics of local adaptation in wildflowers of Yellowstone National Park. In the five years that followed, I worked as a wilderness ranger, a chainsaw sawyer, a ski racecourse setter, and a water quality analyst. I am interested in developing forest management that sustains multiple uses amid uncertainties brought on by climate change. My current MS project will inform silvicultural practices from two angles: determining how forest stand structure and composition drive understory microclimates and better understanding how climate change impacts the ways that private woodland owners manage their forests.