About the Lecturer | Justin Derner, PhD

The nineteenth Kling Anderson Lecture was presented by Dr. Justin Derner, USDA-ARS, Cheyenne, WY. Justin was born and raised on a cattle ranch in the eastern part of the Nebraska Sand Hills. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1991, a M.S. degree from Oklahoma State University in 1993 and a Ph.D. degree in Rangeland Ecology and Management from Texas A&M University in 1996. Upon graduating, he joined ARS as a Rangeland Scientist with the Grassland, Soil and Water Research Laboratory in Temple, Texas.

In 2002, Dr. Derner moved to the Rangeland Resources Research Unit in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Fort Collins, Colorado, and he has served as the Research Leader since February 2010. Currently, Dr. Derner’s research focuses on management practices addressing the interface of contemporary production-conservation issues on western US rangelands by evaluating the influences of grazing, prescribed burning, prairie dogs and their interactions on ecosystem goods and services, and adaptation strategies for land managers regarding increasing climatic variability.

Dr. Derner received the “Early Career Scientist of the Year Award” for the Northern Plains Area of ARS in 2006, the “Outstanding Young Range Professional Award from the Society for Range Management in 2002, and the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the Society for Range Management in 2006. Dr. Derner is a lead PI on the Long-Term Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) project. He is an affiliate faculty member in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at the University of Wyoming, and in the Forest and Rangeland Stewardship Department at Colorado State University.