RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research improves understanding of human-environment interactions in complex institutional settings, in which patterns of interactions among individual people, organizations, and decision-making processes influence the performance of environmental institutions, which in turn shape environmental outcomes.
In my research I explore questions such as: under what conditions can decision-making processes promote collaborative problem-solving at different administrative, spatial, and temporal scales? What factors shape the use of science in environmental decision-making? Under what conditions can biophysical connectivity (e.g., transmission of wildfire from one forested area to another) facilitate or impede collaborative interactions among resource users and other stakeholders? How can policy-makers constructively address conflict that stems from diverse perspectives on the factors that contribute to long-standing environmental governance challenges?
In this work, I draw upon tools and perspectives from policy, psychological, and environmental sciences, and I collaborative extensively with colleagues from diverse social and natural science backgrounds. My research also involves partnerships with natural resource management practitioners, extensionists, and members of other environmental stakeholder groups.
COURSES OFFERED
ENR 4900.01 - Capstone Experience
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Hamilton, M., M. Lubell, E. Namaganda 2018. “Cross-level linkages in an ecology of climate change adaptation policy games.” Ecology and Society. 23(2). doi:10.5751/ES- 10179-230236.
Hamilton, M., M. Lubell. 2018. “Collaborative governance of climate change across spatial and institutional scales.” Policy Studies Journal. 46(2): 222-247. doi:10.1111/psj.12224. Farzan, S.,
D. J. N. Young, A. G. Dedrick, M. Hamilton, E. C. Porse, P. S. Coates, G. Sampson. 2015. “Western juniper management: assessing policies for improving greater sage-grouse habitat and rangeland productivity.” Environmental Management. 1-9. doi:10.1007/s00267-015-0521-1.
Lubell, M., B. B. Cutts, L. M. Roche, M. Hamilton, J. D. Derner, E. Kachergis, and K.W. Tate. 2013. “Conservation Program Participation and Adaptive Rangeland Decision- Making.” Rangeland Ecology and Management. 66(6): 609-620. doi:10.2111/rem-d-13- 00025.1.