Current Appointment

Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, Huxley College, Western Washington University.

Geography Graduate Student Adviser

Education

1997 Ph.D. Geography, University of Arizona

(Dissertation: Integrating Remote Sensing and Terrain Data in Forest Fire Modeling)

1990 MS Environmental Studies, University of Oregon

1985 BS Philosophy, University of Oregon

Research Interests

I am a geographer primarily interested in increasing our understanding of the spatial and temporal changes that are occurring in forest ecosystems. My work examines both the human and the natural influences that are changing these ecosystems. The focus of my work is in pyrogeography, or mapping and predicting the many phenomena associated with forest fire in the American West.

Selected Previous Academic Positions

1998-2001: Assistant Professor Rutgers Department of Geography, Rutgers University.

1997-1998: Lecturer, Department of Geography, University of Oregon.

Selected Grants and Awards

2007, $26,000, Huxley Summer Pre-planning and Site Visits, Western Waterfront Grants Committee.

2006, $25,000, Refining the Huxley College Waterfront Proposal, Western Waterfront Grants Committee.

2006, $8,000 Huxley College: Spatial Analysis Laboratory Printers, Student Technology Fees, WWU (Michael Medler, Stefan Freelan, Dave Knutson).

2006, $25,000 Huxley College: Spatial Analysis Laboratory Server, Student Technology Fees, WWU (Michael Medler, Stefan Freelan, Dave Knutson. and Jennet Collins).

2005, $5,000, WWU Bureau of Faculty Research, Research Advisory Committee, Summer Research Grant. Identifying and mapping wildlife vulnerability to future wildfires in the North Cascades.

2004, $14,700, Spatial Analysis Lab GPS Equipment, Student Technology Fees, WWU. (Michael Medler, Stefan Freelan, David Wallin, Robert Mitchell).

2004, $23,000 (unable to accept) Fulbright Junior Lectureship in Trento Italy. Council for International Exchange of Scholars. Awarded for Spring 2005.

2004, $70,531, Modernizing the Huxley Spatial Analysis Lab, Student Technology Fees, WWU. (With Gene Hoerauf, Stefan Freelan, and Robert Mitchell).

Selected Refereed Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journals:

Medler, M. J., Using GIS to Inform a Debate: Directing Wildfire Prevention Resources into the Backcountry or Near Communities, Environmental Practice. 9:112-118. 2007.

Medler, M. J., Comparing Recent Fire Occurrence with Historical Fire Return Intervals in Washington's National Parks, Northwest Science. 80:184-190. 2006.

Buford, K., M. J. Medler, Temporal Trends in Wildfire and Fire Use on the Methow Valley Ranger District, Washington, Fire Ecology. (in Press).

Medler, M. J., P. Monetsano, D. Robinson. Examining the Relationship Between Snowfall and Wildfire Patterns in the Western United States. Physical Geography. 23:335-342. 2002.

Medler, M. J., and R. Ofren. Evaluating the relationships between fire induced canopy mortality and pre-fire multispectral patterns. Geocarto International. 16: 81-88. 2001.

Medler, M. J. and S. R. Yool. Computer Assisted Terrain Stratification, Physical Geography. 19:433-443. 1998.

Medler, M. J. and S. R. Yool. Improving Thematic Mapper Based Classification of Wildfire Induced Vegetation Mortality. Geocarto International. 12: 49-58. 1997.