Scientists & Staff
Kristin Floress
Current Research
My broad research interests and expertise pertain to understanding and modeling the impact of social factors – from the individual to the community level – on natural resources planning, management, conservation, and restoration across public and private lands. Most of my research is in the context of forest and water resources.
I am currently involved in several projects related to family forest owners: policy tool preferences for engaging in management activities on their land; invasive species monitoring, prevention, and control practices; and the impact of public lands restoration activities on landowner willingness to participate in landscape restoration. I am also leading a team of scientists in conducting a meta-analysis of the family forest owner literature to develop a more comprehensive understanding of what impacts landowner decisions and behaviors.
I have a keen interest in water and the social aspects of preventing pollution from nonpoint sources, and participate in a number of projects to that end. One such project is a multistate team investigating catalysts for collective action to protect water resources. This work has led to a number of collaborative investigations that capitalize on the knowledge of scientists across the Midwest, including the analysis of large survey data sets from across the Great Lakes region. An additional project I am working on involves analyzing water governance structures that span spatial, social, administrative, and institutional levels.
Stakeholder perceptions and support of management actions and restoration on public lands is another focus of my work. I was a co-PI on a recent survey of residents in the Wisconsin Northwoods to understand what impacted their attitudes toward management on three types of public forest in the state. With other Forest Service scientists and cooperators from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, I am investigating perceptions of a large scale landscape restoration project on the Chequamegon Nicolet National Forest.
Why This Research is Important
Sustainable and resilient ecosystems are dependent upon human behaviors. It is essential to understand what drives people to engage in conservation and restoration actions, and what types of policies and programs support those actions.Education
- Purdue University, Ph.D. Natural Resources Social Science, 2008
- Southern Illinois University - Carbondale, M.S. Forestry Human Dimensions of Watershed Management, 2004
Professional Experience
- Research Social Scientist, USDA Forest Service 2015 - Current
- Assistant/Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point 2008 - 2015
Professional Organizations
- International Association for Society and Natural Resources
I have been involved with IASNR since I was a M.S. student at Southern Illinois University. I regularly review papers for the Society's journal and have participated in a number of activities to serve the organization, including helping to plan the annual symposium.
Publications & Products
- Floress, Kristin ; Shwom, Rachael ; Caggiano, Holly ; Slattery, Jacob ; Cuite, Cara ; Schelly, Chelsea ; Halvorsen, Kathleen E.; Lytle, William. 2022. Habitual food, energy, and water consumption behaviors among adults in the United States: Comparing models of values, norms, and identity. Energy Research & Social Science
- Gobster, Paul H.; Weber, Ella ; Floress, Kristin M.; Schneider, Ingrid E.; Haines, Anna L.; Arnberger, Arne. 2022. Place, loss, and landowner response to the restoration of a rapidly changing forest landscape. Landscape and Urban Planning
- Ranjan, Pranay ; Arbuckle, J. Gordon; Church, Sarah P.; Eanes, Francis R.; Floress, Kristin ; Gao, Yuling ; Gramig, Benjamin M.; Singh, Ajay S.; Prokopy, Linda S. 2022. Understanding the relationship between land tenure and conservation behavior: Recommendations for social science research. Land Use Policy
- Snyder, Stephanie A.; Floress, Kristin ; Vokoun, Melinda. 2022. Does having a hunter identity influence land management behaviors of family forest owners?. Human Dimensions of Wildlife
- Church, Sarah P.; Floress, Kristin M.; Ulrich-Schad, Jessica D.; Wardropper, Chloe B.; Ranjan, Pranay ; Eaton, Weston M.; Gasteyer, Stephen ; Rissman, Adena. 2021. How water quality improvement efforts influence urban-agricultural relationships. Agriculture and Human Values
- Clarke, Mysha ; Ma, Zhao ; Snyder, Stephanie A.; Floress, Kristin. 2021. Factors Influencing Family Forest Owners' Interest in Community-led Collective Invasive Plant Management. Environmental Management
- Gobster, Paul H.; Arnberger, Arne ; Schneider, Ingrid E.; Floress, Kristin M.; Haines, Anna L.; Dockry, Michael J.; Benton, Claire. 2021. Restoring a "scenically challenged" landscape: Landowner preferences for pine barrens treatment practices. Landscape and Urban Planning
- Gobster, Paul H.; Schneider, Ingrid E.; Floress, Kristin M.; Haines, Anna L.; Arnberger, Arne ; Dockry, Michael J.; Benton, Claire. 2021. Understanding the key characteristics and challenges of pine barrens restoration: insights from a Delphi survey of forest land managers and researchers. Restoration Ecology
- Kliskey, Andrew ; Williams, Paula ; Griffith, David L.; Dale, Virginia H.; Schelly, Chelsea ; Marshall, Anna-Maria ; Gagnon, Valoree S.; Eaton, Weston M.; Floress, Kristin. 2021. Thinking Big and Thinking Small: A Conceptual Framework for Best Practices in Community and Stakeholder Engagement in Food, Energy, and Water Systems. Sustainability
- Lytle, William ; Schelly, Chelsea ; Floress, Kristin ; Shwom, Rachael L.; Halvorsen, Kathleen E. 2021. Environmental Decision-Making Shaped by the Home: Situating Consumption in the Household. Human Ecology Review
- Snyder, Stephanie A.; Ma, Zhao ; Floress, Kristin ; Clarke, Mysha. 2020. Relationships between absenteeism, conservation group membership, and land management among family forest owners. Land Use Policy
- Burbach, Mark E.; Floress, Kristin ; Stalker Prokopy, Linda. 2019. Catalyzing Change: Social Science for Water Resources Management. Social Science for Water Resources Management. Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education: 167: 1-5.
- Clarke, Mysha ; Ma, Zhao ; Snyder, Stephanie ; Floress, Kristin. 2019. What are family forest owners thinking and doing about invasive plants?. Landscape and Urban Planning
- Floress, Kristin ; Huff, Emily S.; Snyder, Stephanie A.; Koshollek, Alanna ; Butler, Sarah ; Allred, Shorna B. 2019. Factors associated with family forest owner actions: A vote-count meta-analysis.Landscape and Urban Planning. Landscape and Urban Planning
- Floress, Kristin ; Sachdeva, Sonya. 2019. Novel and Controversial Methods in the Social Sciences: Introduction to Special Issue. Society & Natural Resources
- Floress, Kristin ; Thompson, Aaron ; LeBlanc Fisher, Cherie. 2019. Assessing Principles of Good Governance: The Case of Lake Wausau, Wisconsin. Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education: 167: 97-109.
- Floress, Kristin ; Vokoun, Melinda ; Huff, Emily Silver; Baker, Melissa. 2019. Public perceptions of county, state, and national forest management in Wisconsin, USA. Forest Policy and Economics
- Huff, Emily S.; Floress, Kristin ; Snyder, Stephanie A.; Ma, Zhao ; Butler, Sarah. 2019. Where farm and forest meet: Comparing National Woodland Owner Survey respondents with and without farmland. Land Use Policy
- Prokopy, L.S. ; Floress, K. ; Arbuckle, J.G. ; Church, S.P. ; Eanes, F.R. ; Gao, Y. ; Gramig, B.M. ; Ranjan, P. ; Singh, A.S. 2019. Adoption of agricultural conservation practices in the United States: Evidence from 35 years of quantitative literature. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
- Ranjan, Pranay ; Church, Sarah P.; Floress, Kristin ; Prokopy, Linda S. 2019. Synthesizing Conservation Motivations and Barriers: What Have We Learned from Qualitative Studies of Farmers' Behaviors in the United States?. Society & Natural Resources
- Floress, Kristin ; Connolly, Stephanie ; Halvorsen, Kathleen E.; Egan, Amanda ; Schuler, Thomas ; Hill, Amy ; DeSenze, Philip ; Fenimore, Scott ; Karriker, Kent. 2018. Implementing Landscape Scale Conservation across Organizational Boundaries: Lessons from the Central Appalachian Region, United States. Environmental Management
- Floress, Kristin; Haines, Anna; Usher, Emily; Gobster, Paul; Dockry, Mike. 2018. Landowner and visitor response to forest landscape restoration: the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest Lakewood Southeast Project. Stevens Point, WI: University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Center for Land Use Education; and University of Wisconsin Extension. 57 p.
- Floress, Kristin; Reimer, Adam; Thompson, Aaron; Burbach, Mark; Knutson, Cody; Prokopy, Linda; Ribaudo, Marc; Ulrich-Schad, Jessica. 2018. Measuring farmer conservation behaviors: Challenges and best practices. Land Use Policy. 70: 414-418.
- Floress, Kristin; García de Jalón, Silvestre; Church, Sarah P.; Babin, Nicholas; Ulrich-Schad, Jessica D.; Prokopy, Linda S. 2017. Toward a theory of farmer conservation attitudes: Dual interests and willingness to take action to protect water quality. Journal of Environmental Psychology
- Floress, Kristin; Kolozsvary, Mary Beth; Mangun, Jean. 2017. Expert Perceptions of Approaches to Protecting Isolated Wetlands in the Northeastern United States. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association
- Gobster, Paul H.; Floress, Kristin; Westphal, Lynne M.; Watkins, Cristy A.; Vining, Joanne; Wali, Alaka. 2016. Resident and user support for urban natural areas restoration practices. Biological Conservation. 203: 216-225.
- Floress, Kristin; Akamani, Kofi; Halvorsen, Kathleen E.; Kozich, Andrew T.; Davenport, Mae. 2015. The role of social science in sucessfully implementing watershed management strategies. Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education. 154: 85-105.
Research Datasets
- Floress, Kristin M.; Gao, Yuling; Gramig, Benjamin M.; Arbuckle, J. Gordon; Church, Sarah P.; Eanes, Francis R.; Ranjan, Pranay; Singh, Ajay S.; Prokopy, Linda Stalker. 2019. Meta-analytic data from agricultural conservation practice adoption research in the United States 1982-2018. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2019-0011.
National Research Highlights
Landowner Acceptance of a Pine Barrens Restoration Project
Year: 2018
Despite landowners’ uncertainty about long-term outcomes near a pine barrens restoration project on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, they support management actions and trust USDA Forest Service staff.
Understanding why farmers protect soil and water resources
Year: 2017
Understanding why farmers adopt land management practices that protect soil, water, and other ecosystem services is a key need for developing appropriate programs and outreach strategies that promote conservation. Multiple organizations need research to support their agricultural conservation work. A team of Forest Service and university collaborators is extending research published in a 2008 Journal of Soil and Water Conservation paper that is currently the journal’s most highly cited article.
Resident and visitor support for urban natural areas restoration
Year: 2017
Resident and visitor beliefs about whether a given restoration practice, such as controlled burning, is already being used at a site can be a powerful predictor of support for that practice.
Landscape Scale Conservation Evaluation of the West Virginia Restoration Venture
Year: 2016
Long-term investment in relationships with local organizations increases opportunities for landscape scale conservation.