Mike specializes in riparian plant ecology. He has worked in the Northern Rockies for the last 40 years as a researcher, instructor, advisor, and consultant. His research has focused on the ecology of native riparian plants, plant community responses to fluvial processes and land use, ecohydrology, ecohydraulics, landscape history, and long-term ecological changes.

Mike serves as the team expert regarding native riparian woody vegetation distribution and cottonwood zonation and relation to floodplain stratigraphy. A healthy vegetation community is critical to ecosystem health. They provide habitat complexity and thermal cover, reduce streambank erosion, and slow and dissipate floodwaters in the floodplain. Mike is our go-to expert when it comes to specialized riparian experience!