Bio

Kyle Hogrefe is a doctoral candidate in the geography program at Oregon State University’s (OSU) College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences. After receiving his bachelor’s in environmental sciences from the University of Colorado in 1993, a stint in the Peace Corps, various field positions and a master’s with the same OSU program in 2006, Kyle employed his remote sensing and expeditionary research skills in habitat mapping projects for the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center. He returned to OSU after realizing the limits of satellite imagery and technical data in mapping and monitoring natural and cultural resources and the need to tap into local, place-based knowledge to get around some of those limits. Kyle lives in Wallowa, Oregon where, in his spare time, he helps run the family ranch, gets into the backcountry as much as possible and does his best to be a good dad.

Kyle’s research harnesses the power of GIS, remote sensing and computer modeling to provide climate adaptation information for decision-makers in local communities. Using Wallowa County as a case study, he seeks to adapt existing models to local rangeland conditions and resource management realities by integrating place-based knowledge through community-based methods. His mission is to fill the gap between the scientific communities’ ability to analyze the location and condition of natural and cultural resources and their ability to deliver it to those who manage and/or depend on those resources – in this case, ranchers and other rangeland managers or stakeholders. Kyle married into a 7 generation Wallowa County family 15 years ago and has since developed deep connections to the community and lands in his study area, so he values this opportunity to advance local climate resilience.

Learn more about Kyle’s research