Ecology and Restoration of Red Spruce Ecosystems in the Central and Southern Appalachians

Melissa A. Thomas-Van Gundy is a research forester with the USFS Northern Research Station where she serves as project leader for the Ecological Sustainability of Central Appalachian Forests research work unit. Her research program includes stand- and landscape-level projects focused on the restoration and sustainable management of forested ecosystems in the eastern United States. She received a B.S. in Pre-forestry from Davis and Elkins College in 1989, a M.S. in Natural Resource Management from the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry in 1992, and a Ph.D. in Forest Resource Science from West Virginia University in 2011. Before joining the Northern Research Station, Melissa held several positions on the Monongahela National Forest.  Her research in red spruce forests has included assessing ecological and historical context form witness trees in old deeds and landscape-scale scenario modeling for modeling impacts of restoration. 

 

Corinne A. Diggins is research wildlife biologist and was the Southwest climate change coordinator with Science Applications Program in the US Fish and Wildlife Service until fall 2025. Her research includes ecological restoration research in forested ecosystems and habitat ecology of mammals of conservation concern, and climate adaptation for ecosystems and wildlife.  She received a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation from University of Delaware in 2006, a M.S. in Forestry from Northern Arizona University in 2010, and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Conservation from Virginia Tech in 2016. Prior to joining the USFWS, she worked as a research scientist at Virginia Tech focused on wildlife ecology, bioacoustics, ecological restoration, and forest ecology. She has done extensive research on endemic spruce-fir species, including Virginia and Carolina northern flying squirrels, spruce-fir moss spiders, and Appalachian cottontails. She has been a member of CASRI and SASRI since 2012, including serving as the SASRI Research and Monitoring subcommittee lead, the CASRI Reference Conditions subcommitee lead, and a SASRI Steering Committee member.

 

Alexander Silvis is a wildlife biologist with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources where he serves as the lead for the Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species program. His work focuses on recovery of rare, threatened, and endangered species using targeted research, population restoration, and habitat management. He received a B.S. from Wittenberg University in 2008, M.S. in Environment and Natural Resources from The Ohio State University in 2011, and Ph.D. in Fish and Wildlife Conservation from Virginia Tech in 2014. Prior to joining the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources he was a research assistant professor at Virginia Tech and worked in private industry on environmental mitigation for wildlife, streams, and wetlands. 

 

Kathryn M. Shallows is an ecologist with The Nature Conservancy where she serves as a forest conservation strategy director for the Appalachians Program. She leads teams of scientists and conservation practitioners in advancing strategies for forest diversity outcomes across the Appalachians. She received a B.S. in Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Connecticut in 2005, an M.S. in Crop Science in 2011 from The Pennsylvania State University, and a Ph.D in Ecology in 2018 from The Pennsylvania State University. Prior to working with The Nature Conservancy she worked on experimental research farms in Afghanistan, Thailand and the United States. She has been a member of CASRI since 2017 supporting partnership coordination and climate adaptation strategies for red spruce seed sourcing.