Ashe Juniper Management in the Texas Hill Country
Serving Since
Dakota grew up in Smithville, Texas and was raised to appreciate and conserve the outdoors and wildlife that inhabits it. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University - Kingsville. For her thesis, she researched vegetation recovery after the Borrega Fire on the King Ranch using PlanetScope imagery, a satellite platform that provides daily 3-meter resolution imagery. Dakota’s dissertation research will be one of two inaugural projects part of the Henry Hamman Program for Hill Country Conservation and Management. Her research will investigate how management practices such as mechanical removal or prescribed burning of ashe juniper in the Texas Hill Country has impacted ecosystem multi-functionality. Additionally, she will also be researching plant-soil feedback relationships of soil dominated by ashe juniper and how this may affect the growth of other woody species in the region, such as escarpment live oak and Texas madrone. Outside of Dakota’s research, she also flies thermal drone missions to detect white-tailed deer and assists in teaching new FAA pilots.