Sarah Bisbing, PhD
Associate Professor of Forest Ecosystem Science
Director, Whittell Forest and Wildlife Area
sbisbing@unr.edu

​Sarah joined UNR in Fall 2017 after four years as an Assistant Professor at Cal Poly – SLO. She has a B.S. and M.S. in Forestry from the University of Montana and a PhD in Ecology from Colorado State University. Sarah's work focuses on assessing forest persistence potential and then doing something to improve the outcomes! She is baby tree and common garden obsessed and doesn't mind swinging the ole hoedad to get some baby trees in the ground. Sarah’s teaching emphasizes field-based learning, and she is always up for a trip to a Sierra Nevada forest.

​In the Spring of 2020, Sarah was named the Director of the Whittell Forest and Wildlife Area where she is responsible for the leadership, programs, and administration of the Forest, a 2,650 acre area located on the western edge of Washoe Valley.

When not teaching and researching, you can find her exploring the natural world with her kiddo, mountain biking or climbing with the lab mascot, Dawkins the Dog, or working way too late at night to save these climate-impacted western forests.

Bisbing Lab Summer 2020 (L-R): Dr. Ali Urza, Conor Phelan, Lacey Hankin, Sula (dog), Dr. Kellen Nelson, Bryant Nagelson, Tessa Putz, Chuck Lewis

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Post-Doctoral Scholars

Lauren Cox

Lauren is a forest ecologist who studies stand dynamics and evaluates silvicultural strategies for a changing future. She has a BS in Environmental Science and MS in Geography from the University of Alabama. Her PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, which she received from UC Berkeley, focused on the efficacy of long-term silvicultural experiments in the central Sierra Nevada mixed conifer forest. In addition to her dissertation research, she worked with a group of collaborators to survey drought-related tree mortality throughout the Sierra Nevada. She joined the lab as a postdoctoral scholar in Fall 2021.

Graduate Students

Chuck Lewis
M.S. Student

Halina North
​M.S. Student

Following a career shift from a lighting technician in the film and television industry to working as a climbing arborist in rural northern California, Chuck returned to university and completed a B.S. in Forest Ecology and Management at the University of Nevada–Reno in 2020. During his second undergraduate program, he employed his arborist skills with the Bisbing lab by collecting cones from high elevation pine species in the Great Basin. Chuck returned to the lab as a Master’s student in fall of 2021. He is interested in addressing how historic local climatic conditions influence intraspecific trait variation within and among provenances, and how genomic variation is shaped by environmentally driven adaptation. His thesis utilizes a large-scale provenance trial to investigate how historic climatic conditions affect functional trait variation and how this may inform the development of climate change-adapted seed zones for reforestation in the Sierra Nevada.

Halina joined the Bisbing lab as an M.S. student in 2022 following a few seasons of field work for NEON in the Southern Rockies and the Forest Service in the Great Basin. She received her BA from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2019, where she fell in love with field ecology, research, and the beautiful alpine ecosystems of Colorado's high country. Her M.S. research is focused on observing plant phenology in high-elevation areas of the Sierras, and how changes in micro-site conditions can alter the timing of phenological phases throughout the growing season. You can always find her in the mountains, crouching on the ground looking at plants, skiing, or mountain biking!

Technical Staff

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Hunter Noble
​Manager, Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area

Hunter is a forester is interested in how forest management practices can be used to replicate historic disturbance regimes, create system resilience and adaptation in the face of climate change, while also meeting the diverse needs of stakeholders and society. His masters’ thesis focused on the use of prescribed burning in young stands and the relationship of age to crown damage and mortality. Hunter has worked with individuals from a variety of fields at the private, state, and federal level, emphasizing that a multi-disciplinary approach is necessary to tackle the issues that western forests face today. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in forestry from UC Berkeley, where he was advised by Dr. Rob York and Dr. Scott Stephens. He is the Forest Manager for the University of Nevada – Reno school forest, the Whittell Forest and Wildlife Area.

Conor Phelan
Senior Analyst

Conor is a geospatial specialist with a background in conservation and natural resource GIS. He received his master's in resource conservation from the University of Montana. In the past, Conor has provided GIS and data analytics support for a wide variety of stakeholders and agencies including the Human Dimensions Lab at the University of Montana's W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society, Gallatin Valley Land Trust, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, North Fork Analytics, Wilderness Watch, and others. Outside of the lab Conor is an avid backcountry skier, trail runner, and hunter.

Bryant Nagelson
Research Associate

Bryant studies ecosystem- and tree-level responses to disturbance. He completed an MS in the Bisbing Lab in 2021 and now provides research and technical support for AMEX and other studies. For his master’s work, Bryant analyzed long-term trends in natural tree regeneration in response to climatic patterns and repeated fuels treatments with Dr. Bisbing and Dr. Rob York. On the side, Bryant assists with fire effects monitoring and weather forecasting for prescribed fire organizations in the northern Sierra Nevada.

Hannah Cardwell
Project Manager

Hannah received her Bachelors degree in Forest Ecology & Management from the University of Nevada, Reno. She was a student of Sarah's and transitioned right into the planting crew after graduating, and ended up in her current position following the field season. Hannah decided to pursue forestry after realizing that proper land management is vital to outdoor recreation. In her downtime, she enjoys yoga, snowboarding, long walks, speculative fiction, and making really specific playlists for her friends. 

Kevin Charpentier
Operations Coordinator

Kevin graduated from University of Nevada Reno with a B.S. in Forest Ecology and Management. A local Nevadan, Kevin began his career in the mining and construction industry before finding his passions lay elsewhere. At UNR, Kevin balanced a busy academic schedule with work as a field technician in multiple ecological research labs before moving to his current position with the AMEX project. As an outdoor enthusiast and nature lover Kevin enjoys working and spending his time out in the elements. ​

Critters

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Dawkins
Lab Mascot

Dawkins the Dog is an active participant in all field studies and takes his responsibilities as poison oak vector, fitness trainer, and lover of all things very seriously. He adores his students and is up for any and all adventures. He serves as Dr. B’s sidekick in field labs and is her best excuse for outdoor adventures. Dawkins loves baby trees, Rancho Marino Reserve, and being chased. He also prefers cool weather and forested ecosystems, just like his momma.

Sula
​Lab Lab

Sula joined the lab in 2018 under the mentorship of Dawkins. Sula is known for her unbridled enthusiasm regarding just about everything in life, particularly fetch or anything to do with swimming. Sula often accompanied Lacey in the field to provide constructive criticism regarding her experimental design. In her free time Sula can be found running trails, snuggling on a couch, or chasing a ball.

Past Members

University of Nevada - Reno

Graduate Students
Lacey Hankin, PhD (2021)
Tessa Putz, M.S. (2020)
Matthew Terzes (2019)

​Postdoctoral Scholars
Kellen Nelson (2020)
Alexandra Urza (2018)

Research Associates
Matthew Campbell (2021)
Alexis Graves (2019-2022)

Undergraduate Research Technicians​
Lindsey Stone (2018-2019)
Coralee Ditman (2017-2018)

Cal Poly

Graduate Students​
Matthew Brousil, M.S. Student (2014-2016)
Matt studied the above- and belowground consequences of compounding fire disturbances on the composition and structure of Sequoia sempervirens stands. Matt is currently working as a Research Assistant at Washington State University.

Tori Norville, M.S. Student (2015-2017)
 ​Tori explored the effects of silvicultural treatment and Pine Pitch Canker infection on Monterey Pine seedling survival  in the Ano Nuevo Native stand near Santa Cruz, CA. Tori is now a Forester for Cal Fire in Fort Bragg, CA.

Emily O'Dean, M.S. Student (2015-2017)
Emily used the  Abies concolor-Abies magnifica ecotone to quantify seedling response to long-term changes in regional climate conditions through comparison of current ecotone stability with a historical dataset and to quantify the tolerances of these species to climate in their establishment phase by subjecting seedlings to future climate scenarios. 

Marissa Vossmer, M.S. Student (2015-2017)
Marissa used long-term, permanent plots to quantify seedling survival and assess competition between understory shrubs and seedlings in western Sierra Nevada forests.


Undergraduate Research Technicians
Katherine Benedict (2015-2017)
Adrian Driver (2016-2017)
Kevin Hurt (2014-2016)
Devon Jackson (2015-2017)
Danny McQuillan (2013-2014)
Jake Miller (2016-2017)
Alicia Streetman (2016-2017)
Colin Wong (2015-2017)
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