Pamela Sikkink is a Research Ecologist employed by Systems for Environmental Management, a non-profit research, development, and educational organization located in Missoula, MT. She has a Bachelor of Science in biology and geology (Bemidji State University, Minnesota) and advanced degrees in geology (M.S.) and forestry (M.S. and Ph.D.) from the University of Montana, Missoula. She has been employed as an SEM contractor to the Missoula Fire Sciences Lab since 2006.

Pam’s recent research has focused on vegetation change within the intermountain grasslands of western Montana and northern Wyoming using sampling and monitoring records that span 30-50 years. For the past six years, she has investigated how vegetation has change in the elk exclosure areas of Yellowstone National Park’s winter range, as well as in wildlife and grazing areas administered by Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. She continues to sample several of these areas as a volunteer and investigate the structure and composition of their vegetation communities.

Pam’s current contract assignments at the Missoula Fire Lab include evaluating commonly used fuel-sampling methods for differences in loading results; working on an interagency team to develop a software tool that can be used to store and analyze inventory and monitoring data (http://frames.nbii.gov/ffi); developing and maintaining a web site to transfer fire research and analysis tools to fire managers (http://www.fs.fed.us/fmi); developing a field guide to help fire managers identify fuel loading models; and developing a classification system for predicting fire severity using on-site fuels.

Recent Publications and Presentations:

Sikkink, Pamela G., and Keane, Robert E., 2008, A comparison of five sampling techniques to estimate surface fuel loading in montane forests. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 17(3):363-379. Click to download the accompanying table as an Accessory Publication.

Sikkink, PG, Zuur, A.F., Ieno, E.N., and Smith, G.M, 2007, Monitoring for change: Using generalized least squares, nonmetric multidimensional scaling, and the Mantel test on two western Montana grasslands in Zuur, AF, Ieno, EN and Smith, GM., Analysis of Ecological Data, Springer-Verlag Statistics for Biology and Health series, p 463-484.

Keane, Robert E., Lutes, Duncan C., Dickinson, Laura E., and Sikkink, Pamela G., 2006, Picture It: Photoload…. In Changing Fire Regimes:Context and Consequences. Proceedings of the Association for Fire Ecology 3rd International Fire Ecology and Management Congress, Nov. 13-17, 2006, San Diego, CA. Abstract and Poster.

Sikkink, Pamela G, and Alaback, Paul B, 2006, Through the historical lens: An examination of compositional change in Yellowstone's bunchgrass communities (1958-2002), p. 148-158, in A. Wondrak Biel, ed., Greater Yellowstone Public Lands: A Century of Discovery, Hard Lessons, and Bright Prospects. Proceedings of the 8th Biennial Scientific Conference on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, October 17-19, 2005, Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel, Yellowstone National Park, WY: Yellowstone Center for Resources.

Sikkink, Pamela G., 2004, “The changing face of mountain grasslands: 30 years of succession in western Montana’s grassland communities.” at Lessons of Lewis and Clark: Ecological Exploration of Inhabited Landscapes Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Aug. 1-6, 2004. Portland, OR. Abstract and Poster.