Began NMU affiliation in 2022
About Randy
I am a conservation ecologist with 20+ years’ experience working at scales from microbes to landscapes. I use the best available scientific information combined with strong communication skills to inform decision-makers, influence policy, plan sustainable land management, and increase collaboration.
Previous Appointments
- Fire Ecologist, The Nature Conservancy Global Fire Initiative, North America
- Forest Ecologist, Michigan Chapter of The Nature Conservancy
Education
- BS, Biology, Northern Arizona University
- MS, Biology, Northern Arizona University
Select Publications
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Parks, S., Holsinger, L., Blankenship, K., Dillon, G., and Swaty, R. In review in Forest Ecology and Management, August 2022. Contemporary fires are much more severe compared to a historical reference period in western US dry conifer forests.
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Markovchick, L.M., Carrasco‐Denney, V., Sharma, J., Querejeta, J.I., Gibson, K.S., Swaty, R., Uhey, D.A., Belgara‐Andrew, A., Kovacs, Z.I., Johnson, N.C. and Whitham, T.G., The gap between mycorrhizal science and application: existence, origins, and relevance during the United Nation's Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Restoration Ecology, p.e13866.
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Swaty, R., Blankenship, K., Hall, K.R., Smith, J., Dettenmaier, M. and Hagen, S., 2021. Assessing Ecosystem Condition: Use and Customization of the Vegetation Departure Metric. Land, 11(1), p.28.
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Blankenship, K., Swaty, R., Hall, K.R., Hagen, S., Pohl, K., Shlisky Hunt, A., Patton, J., Frid, L. and Smith, J., 2021. Vegetation dynamics models: a comprehensive set for natural resource assessment and planning in the United States. Ecosphere, 12(4), p.e03484.
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Meunier, J., Nixon, K., Gorby, T.A., Swaty, R.L., Martin, K.J. and D'Amato, A.W., 2020. Understanding Uncertainty in Broad-Scale Mapping of Historical Vegetation in the Great Lakes Region. Natural Areas Journal, 40(1), pp.72-85.
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Smith, J., Swaty, R., Blankenship, K., Hagen, S., Hall, K., Patton, J. and Medlock, K., 2019. Value and status of state-and-transition models for oak systems: Appalachians and Central Hardwood regions. In Oak Symposium: Sustaining (p. 187).
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Gehring, C.A., Swaty, R.L. and Deckert, R.J., 2017. Mycorrhizas, drought, and host-plant mortality. In Mycorrhizal Mediation of Soil (pp. 279-298).
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Swaty, R., 2016. The Best Way to Spend an Hour: Reviewing LANDFIRE Ecosystem Descriptions and Models. The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 97(2), pp.180-182.
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Swaty, R., Michael, H.M., Deckert, R. and Gehring, C.A., 2016. Mapping the potential mycorrhizal associations of the conterminous United States of America. Fungal Ecology, 24, pp.139-147.
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Price, J.M., Silbernagel, J., Nixon, K., Swearingen, A., Swaty, R. and Miller, N., 2015. Collaborative scenario modeling reveals potential advantages of blending strategies to achieve conservation goals in a working forest landscape. Landscape Ecology, pp.1-23.
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Swearingen, A., Price, J., Silbernagel, J., Swaty, R. and Miller, N., 2015. State-and-transition simulation modeling to compare outcomes of alternative management scenarios under two natural disturbance regimes in a forested landscape in northeastern Wisconsin, USA. AIMS Environmental Science, 2(3), 737-763.
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Nixon, K., Silbernagel, J., Price, J., Miller, N. and Swaty, R., 2014. Habitat availability for multiple avian species under modeled alternative conservation scenarios in the Two Hearted River watershed in Michigan, USA. Journal for Nature Conservation, 22(4), pp.302-317.
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Price, J.M., Silbernagel, J.M., Miller, N., Swaty, R., White, M, Nixon, K. 2012. “Eliciting Expert Knowledge to Inform Landscape Modeling of Conservation Scenarios.” Ecological Modeling 229: 76-87.
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Swaty R., Blankenship K., Hagen S., Fargione J., and Smith J. 2011 Accounting for Ecosystem Alteration Doubles Estimates of Conservation Risk in the Conterminous United States. PLoS ONE 6(8): e23002 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023002
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Silbernagel, J.M., Price, J.M., Swaty, R., and Miller, N. “The Next Frontier: Projecting the Effectiveness of Broad- Scale Forest Conservation Strategies,” in Landscape Ecology in Forest Management and Conservation: Challenges and Solutions for Global Change, eds. Li, C., Lafortezza, R., and Chen, J. HEP-Springer, 2011.
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Blankenship, K., J. Smith, A. Shlisky, D. Johnson, and R. Swaty. "Assessing fire and biodiversity conservation for the conterminous United States." In: Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Fire Economics, Planning, and Policy: Common Approaches and Problems, vol. 227, p. 343. DIANE Publishing, 2010.
Select Professional Service Activities and Membership
Professional Associations
Society for Conservation Biology
Ecological Society of America
Society of American Foresters
Community Service
Board President, Superior Strings Alliance, 2013-2019.
Alger County MI Conservation District, Board member, 2004-2006.
