Kristin bio
Watching and listening to the crash of ocean waves against the rocky Maine coast from her kitchen window, telemarking down open, uncrowded mountain slopes, rafting through the untamed wilderness of Baxter State Park – these were Kristin’s treasures growing up in Maine. Being immersed in the beauty and adventure of the outdoors was a luxury that became an integral part of her and a foundation for her interest in the environment. After completing a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire with a major in Mathematics, she spent a few years exploring Europe, Asia, and the West, where she decided to follow her passion for skiing in Telluride, Colorado.
After three years in Telluride, she began to pursue a career in the environment at Tufts University in Boston, where through volunteering, internships, and class work, she found excitement in the interplay between scientists, engineers, and policy makers. Observing a clear lack of understanding between the policy makers and the engineers/scientists, she realized that a solid knowledge of both science and policy should effectuate quicker meaningful change to the environment. She pursued a joint master’s degree in Environmental Engineering and Environmental Policy at Tufts University. with a focus in watershed management aimed at protecting water quality. Through her self-designed master’s thesis research, she evaluated the impacts of land use on groundwater nitrate concentration in Nantucket, Massachusetts. The results of her Nantucket study are published in Groundwater journal.
Through her research in Nantucket, Kristin was afforded the opportunity to collaborate with leading hydrologists, state and local environmental officials, planners and environmental interest groups. These interactions further confirmed for Kristin the necessity of combining engineering/planning with science to effectively manage water resources. With this recognition, Kristin sought to further her education by pursuing a doctoral degree in hydrology in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences at Montana State University in 2003.
Kristin’s studies at MSU complement her solid engineering and planning based master’s education with a more scientific approach to complex hydrological processes. Through an NSF Epscor fellowship, she developed her own research project and found funding through the USGS, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, the EPA Program for Understanding Aquatic Thresholds through Retrospective Analysis, and the NSF Geography and Hydrology Program. With this funding, she will examine the impact of recreational and residential development on nitrogen export in mountainous watersheds. Her study site is the West Fork Watershed, which drains Big Sky resort community in Southwestern Montana, home to Ophir K-8 school, where she teams with 4th and 5th grade teacher Jeremy Harder and 7th grade teacher Sue Barton to develop and implement classroom lessons and outdoor activities to educate students in water quality issues in their own community. Her hopes are that the outcome of her doctoral research will provide the framework necessary to guide smart growth in the Big Sky area with minimal impacts to the water resources. Ideally, this framework will extend outside of Big Sky to other developing mountainous regions in the West.
Outside of her research, Kristin enjoys skiing, hiking, biking, and climbing, especially with her dog Thailer, cooking, traveling, and music.