ABOUT US
We are a husband-and-wife team of scientists. We live near Glacier National Park in northwest Montana with our three children and two dogs. We spend our free time exploring the local trails, rivers and mountains and have a vested interest in supporting local conservation efforts. In past work completed for the US Geological Survey, we have contributed to the understanding of glacier melt, grizzly bear expansion and mapped huckleberries across the park. Our vision for South Fork Environmental Research and Consulting is to serve as an entity that answers questions at the local and regional levels that are of global importance. We specialize in providing data products and analysis that support local initiatives at a variety of scales, from individual clients and local organizations to government entities. We aim to improve the accuracy and efficiency of local and regional landscape planning and management decision making.
THE TEAM
Nate Mikle - Co-lead consultant
Chelsea Martin-Mikle - Co-lead consultant
My research broadly encompasses the study of landscapes and how they shape and are in turn shaped by flora and fauna populations. My expertise lies in leveraging satellite and aerial remote sensing measurements to take local processes and scale them up to landscape-level understanding. I apply creative problem solving to conservation and management questions arising from the influence of humans on wildlife population dynamics. My focus includes a special emphasis assessing long-term trends in vegetation productivity and phenological change as a result of a changing climate and the effect they have on wildlife populations.
I am a geographer, interested broadly in the use of remotely sensed data to monitor, measure and map land cover change over time. My passion lies in mobilizing spatial technologies to analyze and inform human-environment interaction at the landscape-scale. I believe a holistic approach is necessary to conserve species and maintain integral ecosystem functionality and services. I use a combination of aerial imagery, satellite imagery and LiDAR point cloud data with advanced GIS technology to quantify and track change over time. My focus includes tracking the melting of Glacier National Park’s namesakes and creating high-resolution, species-level vegetation maps.