CV, Dr. Peter M. Brown, Director

Published papers  |  Recent Grants and Contracts  |   Professional Activities

• Brown, P.M., and A.W. Schoettle. In press. Fire and stand history in two limber pine (Pinus flexilis) and Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata) stands in Colorado. International Journal of Wildland Fire.
• Péwé, T.L., J.A. Westgate, S.J. Preece, P.M. Brown, and S.W. Leavitt. In press. Late Pliocene Dawson Cut Forest Bed and new tephrochronological findings in the Gold Hill Loess, east-central Alaska. Geological Society of America Special Paper. 
• Brown, P.M., E.K. Heyerdahl, S.G. Kitchen, and M.H. Weber. 2008. Climate effects on historical fires (1630-1900) in Utah. International Journal of Wildland Fire 17:28-39.
• Swetnam, T.W, and P.M. Brown. 2008. Climatic inferences from dendroecological reconstructions. In M.K. Hughes, H.F. Diaz, and T.W. Swetnam (editors); Dendroclimatology: Progress and Prospects. Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research, Springer Verlag (in press).
• Brown, P.M. 2007. What Was the Role of Fire in Coast Redwood Forests?  In: Standiford, R.B., Giusti, G.A., Valachovic, Y., Zielinski, W.J., Furniss, M.J. (technical editors). Proceedings of the Redwood Region Forest Science Symposium: What Does the Future Hold? Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-194. Albany, CA: PSW Research Station, Forest Service; p. 215-218.
• Brown, P.M. 2007. A modified increment borer handle for coring in locations with obstructions. Tree-Ring Research 63:61-62.
• Kitzberger, T., P.M. Brown, E.K. Heyerdahl, T.W. Swetnam, and T.T. Veblen. 2007. Contingent Pacific-Atlantic Ocean influence on multi-century wildfire synchrony over western North America. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104:543-548. PNAS Online Link.
• Brown, P.M. 2006. Climate effects on fire regimes and tree recruitment in Black Hills ponderosa pine forests. Ecology 87:2500-2510.
• Binkley, D, M.M. Moore, W.H. Romme, and P.M. Brown. 2006. Was Aldo Leopold right about the Kaibab deer herd? Ecosystems 9:227-241.
• Brown, P.M., and B. Cook. 2006. Early settlement forest structure in Black Hills ponderosa pine forests. Forest Ecology and Management 223:284-290.
• Brown, P.M., and R. Wu. 2005. Climate and disturbance forcing of episodic tree recruitment in a southwestern ponderosa pine landscape. Ecology 86:3030-3038.
• Brown, P.M. 2004. Book review: Ecological Restoration of Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests, edited by Peter Friederici. Mountain Research and Development 24:276-278.
• Brown, P.M. 2003. Fire, Climate, and Forest Structure in Ponderosa Pine Forests of the Black Hills. Ph.D. Dissertation, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. 103pp.
• Brown, P.M., and W.T. Baxter. 2003. Fire history in coast redwood forests of the Mendocino Coast. Northwest Science 77:147-158.
• Woodhouse, C.A., J.J. Lukas, and P.M. Brown. 2002. Drought in the western Great Plains, 1845-1856: Impacts and implications. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 83(10):1485-1493.
• Brown, P.M., and W.D. Shepperd. 2001. Fire history and fire climatology along a 5° gradient in latitude in Colorado and Wyoming, USA. Palaeobotanist 50:133-140.
• Woodhouse, C.A., and P.M. Brown. 2001. Tree-ring evidence for Great Plains drought. Tree-Ring Research 57:89-103.
• Brown, P.M., M.W. Kaye, L. Huckaby, and C. Baisan. 2001. Fire history along environmental gradients in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico: Influences of local patterns and regional processes. Écoscience 8:115-126.
• Brown, P.M., D.R. D'Amico, A.T. Carpenter, and D.M. Andrews. 2001. Restoration of montane ponderosa pine forests in the Colorado Front Range: A Forest Ecosystem Management Plan for the City of Boulder. Ecological Restoration 19:19-26.
• Brown, P.M., M.G. Ryan, and T.G. Andrews. 2000. Historical Fire Frequency in Ponderosa Pine Stands in Research Natural Areas, Central Rocky Mountains and Black Hills, US. Natural Areas Journal 20:133-139.
• Kaufmann, M.R., Regan, C.M., and P.M. Brown. 2000. Heterogeneity in ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests: Age and size structure in unlogged and logged landscapes of central Colorado. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 30:698-711.
• Brown, P.M, and C.H. Sieg. 1999. Historical variability in fire at the ponderosa pine - northern Great Plains prairie ecotone, southeastern Black Hills, South Dakota. Écoscience 6:539-547.
• Brown, P.M., M.R. Kaufmann, and W.D. Shepperd. 1999. Long-term, landscape patterns of past fire events in montane ponderosa pine forest of central Colorado. Landscape Ecology 14:513-532.
• Brown, P.M., M.W. Kaye, and D. Buckley. 1999. Fire history in Douglas-fir and coast redwood forests at Point Reyes National Seashore, California. Northwest Science 73:205-216.
• Brown, P.M., W.D. Shepperd, S.A. Mata, and D.L. McClain. 1998. Longevity of windthrown logs in a subalpine forest of central Colorado. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 28:932-936.
• Péwé, T.L., G.W. Berger, J.A. Westgate, P.M. Brown, and S.W. Leavitt. 1997. Eva Interglaciation Forest Bed, Unglaciated East-Central Alaska: Global Warming 125,000 Years Ago. Geological Society of America Special Paper 319. 54 p.
• Brown, P.M., and C.H. Sieg. 1996. Fire history in interior ponderosa pine forests of the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA. International Journal of Wildland Fire 6:97-105.
• Savage, M.A., P.M. Brown, and J. Feddema. 1996. The role of climate in a pine forest regeneration pulse in the southwestern United States. Écoscience 3:310-318.
• Hughes, M.K., R. Touchan, and P.M. Brown. 1996. A multimillennial network of giant sequoia chronologies for dendroclimatology. In: J.S. Dean, D.M. Meko, and T.W. Swetnam, eds., Tree Rings, Environment, and Humanity: Proceedings of the International Conference, Tucson, Arizona, 17-21 May, 1994. Radiocarbon 1996:225-234.
• Brown, P.M. 1996. OLDLIST: A database of maximum tree ages. In: J.S. Dean, D.M. Meko, and T.W. Swetnam, eds., Tree Rings, Environment, and Humanity: Proceedings of the International Conference, Tucson, Arizona, 17-21 May, 1994. Radiocarbon 1996:727-731.
• Brown, P.M., and W.D. Shepperd. 1995. Engelmann spruce tree-ring chronologies from Fraser Experimental Forest, Colorado: Potential for a long-term temperature reconstruction in the central Rocky Mountains. In: R.W. Tinus, ed., Interior West Global Change Workshop, April 25-27, 1995, Fort Collins, CO. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RM-GTR-262:23-26.
• Brown, P.M., and P.J. Krusic. 1995. The Annual North American Dendroecological Fieldweek: A workweek in applied tree-ring research.  In: R.W. Tinus, ed., Interior West Global Change Workshop, April 25-27, 1995, Fort Collins, CO. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RM-GTR-262:75-77.
• Brown, P.M., and T.W. Swetnam. 1994. A cross-dated fire history from a stand of coast redwood near Redwood National Park, California. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 24:21-31.
• Brown, P.M., M.K. Hughes, C.H. Baisan, T.W. Swetnam, and A.C. Caprio. 1992. Giant sequoia ring-width chronologies from the central Sierra Nevada, California. Tree-Ring Bulletin 52:1-14.
• Hughes, M.K., and P.M. Brown. 1992. Drought frequency in central California since 101 BC recorded in giant sequoia tree rings. Climate Dynamics 6:161-167.
• Swetnam, T.W., and P.M. Brown. 1992. Oldest known conifers in the southwestern United State: Temporal and spatial patterns of maximum age. In M.R. Kaufmann, W.H. Moir, and R.L. Bassett (tech. coor.), Old-Growth Forests in the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regions: the Status of Our Knowledge. Proceedings of a Workshop, Portal, Arizona, March 9-13, 1992. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RM-213:24-38.

• Interaction of Fire, Climate, and Forest Structure in Northern Mexico. 9/2006 - 8/2010. National Science Foundation: $703,000. PI: Peter Fulé, Northern Arizona University; Co-PIs: Don Falk, University of Arizona, José Villanueva-Díaz, INIFAP-Mexico, Eladio Cornejo-Oviedo, Universidad Autónoma Agraria "Antonio Narro".
• A Professional Development Workshop in Dendrochronology: North American Dendroecological Fieldweek (NADEF). 4/2005 - 3/2010. National Science Foundation: $61,000. PI: James Speer Indiana State University; Co-PI: Henri Grissino-Mayer, University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
• Fire and Forest History at Mount Rushmore National Memorial: Application and Demonstration of Fire Science. 9/2005 - 7/2007. Joint Fire Science Program, USDI National Park Service and US Geological Survey: $203,914. Co-PIs: Cody Wienk, NPS, and Amy Symstad, USGS.
• Reference Conditions for Fire Regime Condition Class: A Comparison of Historical and Model Data. 3/2005 - 5/2007. National Interagency Fuels Technology Transfer Team $81,000.  Co-PI: Tyson Swetnam, University of Arizona.
• Fire Regimes and Forest Structure of Forests of Utah and Eastern Nevada: A Multi-Scaled History from Tree Rings. 7/2002 - 12/2006. Joint Fire Science Program, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fishlake National Forest, Dixie National Forest, and Great Basin National Park: $731,530. Co-PIs: Emily Heyerdahl and Stan Kitchen, RMRS.
• Development of Tree-Ring and Fire Chronologies in Pine and Incense Cedar, Calaveras Big Trees State Park, California. 9/2003 - 5/2005.  University of California, Davis: $19,500. Co-PI: Michael Barbour, University of California, Davis.
• International Multiproxy Paleofire Database. 1/2003 - 5/2005. NOAA Environmental Services Data and Information Management (ESDIM) and Climate Change Data and Detection (CCDD) Programs, and US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station: $195,000. Co-PIs: Andrea Brunell, University of Utah; Eric Grimm, Illinois State Museum; Henri Grissino-Mayer, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Emily Heyerdahl, Rocky Mountain Research Station; Thomas Kitzberger, Universidad Nacional del Comahue (Argentina); Merrick Richmond, University of Arizona; Tom Swetnam, University of Arizona; Cathy Whitlock, University of Oregon, Connie Woodhouse, NOAA Paleoclimatology Program. 
• Fire and Forest Structure Across Vegetation Gradients in San Juan National Forest, Colorado: A Multi-Scaled Historical Analysis. 10/2001 - 6/2006. Joint Fire Science Program and San Juan National Forest: $315,930. Co-PI: Rosalind Wu, SJNF.
• Fire History and Fire Climatology at Point Reyes National Seashore, California, From Tree Rings and Paleo-charcoal. 8/1997 - 9/2004. USDI National Park Service, Point Reyes National Seashore: $104,600. Co-PI: Scott Anderson, Northern Arizona University.
• Age Structure of Pinus flexilis and Pinus aristata Stands. 8/2002 - 5/2004. Rocky Mountain Research Station. $12,500. Co-PI: Anna Schoettle, RMRS.
• Fire History in Ponderosa Pine Forests of the Uncompahgre Plateau, Colorado. 6/2002 -5/2003. Painted Sky Resource Conservation Development Council. $9,000.
• Structure of Pre-Settlement Ponderosa Pine in the Black Hills. 12/2001 - 5/2004. Black Hills National Forest. $66,643.
• Multi-Scaled Analysis of Fire History at Jackson Demonstration State Forest, California. 10/2000 - 12/2001. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. $40,205.
• Fire History in Ponderosa Pine Forests and Woodlands of The Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming. 6/2000 - 5/2002. The Nature Conservancy and Bureau of Land Management. $15,000.
• Fire History and Stand Structure in Upper Montane Forests at Caribou Ranch Open Space.  1/2000 - 4/2001. Boulder County, Colorado. $10,500.
• Fire History and Stand Structure in Pine Forests of The Catamount Institute, Woodland Park, Colorado. 6/1999 - 12/2001. The Catamount Institute, Colorado Springs, CO. $12,500.
• Recruitment and Mortality in Woodlands at the Great Plains Ecotone in Southeastern Colorado. 6/1999 -12/2001. Colorado Natural History Small Grants Program and USDA Forest Service, Comanche and Kiowa-Rita Blanca National Grasslands. $11,110.
• Landscape-Scale Age Structure of Ponderosa Pine Stands on the Limestone Plateau, Black Hills National Forest. 5/1999 - 12/2000. USDA Forest Service, Black Hills National Forest; $52,000.
• Historical Range of Variability Assessments for the Colorado Portion of the Southern Rocky Mountain Province. 1/1999 - 12/2001. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region; $83,800. Co-PI: Tom Veblen, University of Colorado, Boulder.
• Temperature Variability since AD 1000 in the Western US from Tree Rings. 9/1998 - 8/2001. National Science Foundation: $278,187. Co-PIs: Malcolm Hughes, University of Arizona, Connie Woodhouse, NOAA Paleoclimatology Program.
• Expanded and Lengthened Dendroclimatic Reconstructions of Great Plains Drought. 4/1998 - 3/2001. National Science Foundation: $261,096. Co-PI: Connie Woodhouse, NOAA Paleoclimatology Program.
• Forest Management Plan for City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks. 11/1997 - 10/1998. City of Boulder, Colorado; $41,233.
• Tree-Ring Evidence of Past Climate and Maximum Tree Age Structure at the Glacier Lakes Ecosystems Experimental Site, Wyoming. 9/1997 - 12/2000. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station; $10,000.
• Fire History and Tree Recruitment at Cheesman Reservoir and Manitou Experimental Forest. 9/1996 - 12/1997. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station; $27,000. CO-PI: Merrill Kaufmann, RMRS.
• Fire History in Ponderosa Pine Communities of Research Natural Areas in Central and Western Colorado and Wyoming. 7/1996 - 7/1997. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station; $15,500. Co-PI: Mike Ryan, RMRS.
• Patterns of Cohort Distribution and Gap Dynamics in Old-Growth Ponderosa Pine Stands of the Southern Front Range. 8/1995 - 7/1996. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station; $10,000. Co-PI: Wayne Shepperd, RMRS.
• Fire History in Lower and Mid-Elevation Forests of the Front Range of Colorado. 7/1995 - 12/1996. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station; $10,000. Co-PI: Wayne Shepperd, RMRS.
• Tree-Ring Evidence of Past Climate at Fraser Experimental Forest, Central Colorado. 10/1994 - 9/1995. USDA Forest Service, Interior West Global Change Program; $25,000. Co-PI: Wayne Shepperd, RMRS.
• Fire History of the Black Hills, South Dakota. 10/1993 - 12/1997.  USDI National Park Service, Jewel Cave National Monument and Wind Cave National Park, and USDA Forest Service, Black Hills National Forest and Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Rapid City, SD; $70,300. Co-PI: Carolyn Hull Sieg, RMRS.

• 2003: PhD, Forest, Rangeland, & Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University
• 1991: MS, Forestry/Watershed Management, University of Arizona
• 1984: BA, Anthropology/Archaeology, University of Arizona

• 1997 - present: President and Director, Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, Fort Collins
• 1993 - 1997: Affiliate Scientist, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins
• 1990 - 1993: Research Specialist, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson
• 1988 - 1990: Graduate Research Assistant, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona
• 1979 - 1988: Seasonal and temporary positions, including: Scuba Diver, Sea Life Supply, California (1987 & 1988); Natural Resources Technician, Pinnacles National Monument, California (1987); Wildland Firefighter, Kaibab National Forest, Arizona (1985 - 1986); Archaeologist, Bureau of Land Management Safford District, Arizona (1984); Archaeologist, Fishlake National Forest, Utah (1983); Archaeologist, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado (1979, 1982, & 1983); Archaeologist, Arizona State Museum (1982 & 1985); Archaeologist, Navajo Nation Cultural Resources Management Program (1979 & 1981); Archaeologist, Bureau of Land Management Salmon District, Idaho (1980)

Professional Service 

• 2007: Instructor, Seminar on the IPCC AR4, Colorado State University
• 2007: Instructor, Forest Ecology undergrad course, Colorado State University
• 2007 to present: Affiliate Faculty member, Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University
• 2006: Instructor, International Dendroecological Fieldweek, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
• 2006: Co-Chair, 7^th International Conference on Dendrochronology, Beijing, China
• 2005 to present: Associate Editor, International Journal of Wildland Fire
• 2005 to present: Affiliate Faculty member, School of Renewable National Resources, University of Arizona
• 2004 to present: Affiliate Faculty member, Department of Forest Resources, University of Idaho
• 2004 to 2008: President, Tree-Ring Society
• 2003 to 2008: Co-Chair, International Multiproxy Paleofire Database, NOAA Paleoclimatology Program
• 2003: Instructor, Introduction to Dendrochronology, Colorado State University
• 2002: Session Chair and Editor, Restoration Case Studies and Ecosystem Effects, Conference on Fire, Fuel Treatments, and Ecological Restoration, Fort Collins
• 2001 to present: Affiliate Faculty member, Forest, Rangeland, & Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University
• 2000: Co-Director and Instructor, First Austral Dendroecological Fieldweek, San Martin de los Andes, Argentina
• 1999 to 2003: Treasurer, Tree-Ring Society
• 1998: Instructor, Introduction to Fire History and Dendrochronology summer field course, Fire in California Ecosystems Program, University of California, Davis
• 1994 to 1996: Instructor, Dendrochronological Methods and Principles summer field courses, Mountain Research Station, University of Colorado, Boulder
• 1992 to present: Co-Director (1992-2001) and Instructor, North American Dendroecological Fieldweek
• Professional Memberships: American Geophysical Union, Association for Fire Ecology, Ecological Society of America, Sigma Xi, Tree-Ring Society

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