Network Staff

Daniel has led the Klamath Network Inventory and Monitoring Program since 2001. He is an applied ecologist with professional background in wetland ecology and restoration, forest science, and biodiversity assessment. He holds a M.A. in Aquatic and Population Biology from University of California, Santa Barbara and a PhD in Forest Science/Water Resources from Oregon State University. His graduate theses explored environmental controls on plant species distribution and diversity in riparian ecosystems of California and Oregon, respectively. Previously, Daniel worked for the Inyo National Forest, the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, and The Nature Conservancy. In addition to National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring, Daniel is interested in the factors creating and maintaining biological diversity in landscapes, and in the supporting sciences of biogeography, disturbance ecology, and spatial analysis. Daniel serves as an adjunct Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies at Southern Oregon University.

In his spare time, Daniel can be seen hitting the trails around Ashland or in the Klamath parks with wife Jocelyn, son Liam and dog Flip.

Sean received his B.A. in Wildlife and Fisheries Management from the University of Wyoming in 1996. He went on to graduate work with the University of Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit where he earned his M.A. studying the habitat relationships of woodpeckers in the Black Hills National Forest. From 2003 till 2006 he continued to work with the Cooperative Research Unit on a diversity of wildlife, habitat, and fisheries projects throughout Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, South Dakota and Montana. In 2003 he ventured west to work as a District Wildlife / Botany Data Steward for the Bureau of Land Management in Medford, Oregon. Based on his natural resources knowledge and data management background he was hired as the Data Manager for the Klamath Network in 2006.

In his spare time, Sean enjoys getting away from his computer by hiking with his dog Tanner, hunting in the wilderness of Oregon, and fishing on the coast with friends. (back to top)

Elizabeth (Bess) Perry
Program Support Assistant
elizabeth_perry@nps.gov
541-552-8577

Originally from Connecticut, Bess received her B.S. from the University of Idaho in Natural Resources Ecology-Conservation Biology in 2004. Her senior project focused on helping families become more interested in nature through programs at the Hartford Public Library. Before beginning her current adventure as the Klamath Network Program Assistant, she was a Klamath Network Data Miner for two years. Back east, she worked for the CT Department of Environmental Protection for four seasons as an Interpretive Guide at Devil's Hopyard and Gillette Castle State Parks. Bess also volunteered for a PhD. candidate at the U of I College of Natural Resources, preparing Italian bear DNA samples for population viability analysis.

Having lived in Nepal, Bess enjoys speaking Nepali and learning about South Asian cultures and ecologies. She also likes cycling and hiking, bellydancing, and being artsy.(back to top)

Eric Dinger
Aquatic Ecologist
Eric_Dinger@nps.gov
541-552-8574

Eric received a PhD from Northern Arizona University in Biology in 2006, working on the restoration and monitoring of Fossil Creek, Arizona.  He also spent considerable time studying aquatic habitats, fish, invertebrates, and stromatolites in the Mexican Chihuahuan Desert.  He followed up his graduate work by working in the National Aquatic Monitoring Center, aka the BugLab at Utah State University.  While there, he worked on research focused on the bioassessment and monitoring of western rivers.  He has also worked on international biodiversity issues, including México, Africa and Central Asia. 

In his spare time, Eric and his wife Nikki are out exploring Ashland at high speed, either running or mountain biking.  He is also trying to get back to being able to run 100 miles.

Sean Smith
Botanist
sean_b_smith@nps.gov
541-552-8570

Sean earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, with a Chemistry minor, in 2001 from Western Washington University, in Bellingham, WA, where he grew up. Sean left the rain behind and moved to Ashland in 2003 to work for the Klamath Network inventorying rare plants. In 2005, Sean began an intensive inventory of the vascular plants of Lava Beds National Monument, for a master’s project at Southern Oregon University in conjunction with the Klamath Network. This work culminated in receiving his Master’s degree and creating a flora of Lava Beds National Monument in 2008. Sean started working as the Klamath Network Botanist in February 2009.

Dennis Odion is a vegetation ecologist who specializes in fire and other processes underlying the formation of vegetation patterns. He received his Master's degree in botany (1984) and his doctoral degree in plant geography (1995), both from UC Santa Barbara. He currently holds a research position at the Institute for Computational Earth Systems Science at UCSB. Dr. Odion’s research has involved the monitoring and quantitative description of fire behavior and its effects on vegetation and soil seed banks, using a variety field measurements, observation, and experimentation. Most recently, Dr. Odion has conducted research on fire and landscape susceptibility to Sudden Oak Death, fire severity in the Klamath region and Sierra Nevada, and on prescribed burning and the ecology of rare plants. Dr. Odion resides in Ashland, OR, with his wife Diane and daughters Kelly and Emily. (back to top)

Lorin Groshong
GIS Specialist
SOU Research Assistant
GroshongL@sou.edu
541-552-6253