Ecosystem Scientist

Allie Heller, Ecosystem Scientist

Allie Heller, M.S.

Ecosystem Scientist
allie.heller@briloon.org

Allie Heller is an ecosystem ecologist specializing in the drivers and management implications of ecosystem dynamics in grasslands, drylands, and pastoralist socio-ecological systems. Her work focuses on exploring changes in soil carbon sequestration, soil stability, livestock production, and other ecosystem services in response to ecological state change, management intervention, and restoration practices. This research has involved mapping, measurement, and analysis of soils and plant community patterns, as well as developing novel tools to communicate ecosystem dynamics to a wide range of stakeholders. She has extensive experience collecting ecological data in the field and with data management and analysis, as well as in course development and instruction for field methods and ecological data analysis.

Allie joined Biodiversity Research Institute in 2025 where she studies terrestrial carbon sequestration, ecosystem dynamics, and climate resilience with the Center for Conservation and Climate Change..

Education & Certifications

Education

  • New Mexico State University, 2020 – M.Sc., Plant and Environmental Sciences
  • Prescott College, 2015 – B.A., Environmental Studies

Certifications

  • Foreign Affairs Counter Threat, U.S. Department of State
  • Wilderness First Responder, Wilderness Medical Associates
  • Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health, Natural Resources Conservation Service
  • Proper Functioning Condition Assessment for Lotic Systems, Bureau of Land Management National Operations Center
  • Threatened and Endangered Species Program Policy, Bureau of Land Management National Operations Center
  • National Environmental Policy Act, Bureau of Land Management National Operations Center

Research Interests

  • Drivers of ecosystem change
  • Ecosystem services
  • Climate resilience
  • Multivariate statistics

Journal Articles

  • Webb, N. P., Edwards, B. L., Heller, A., McCord, S. E., Schallner, J. W., Treminio, R. S., … & Houdeshell, C. A. (2024). Establishing quantitative benchmarks for soil erosion and ecological monitoring, assessment, and management. Ecological Indicators, 159, 111661.Heller, A. (2015). “History and Management of Public Rangelands in the United States: A Case Study from New Mexico.” Inquiries Journal, 7(04).
  • Heller, A., Webb, N. P., Bestelmeyer, B. T., Brungard, C. W., & Davidson, Z. M. (2022). An Inductive Approach to Developing Ecological Site Concepts with Existing Monitoring Data. Rangeland Ecology &Management, 83, 133-148.

Research Reports

  • Heller, A., McCord, S., Webb, N. P., Schallner, J. W. (2023). A generalized approach to setting reclamation benchmarks with monitoring data. Presented at the 2023 Annual Meeting for the Society of Range Management. Boise, ID.
  • Heller, A., Webb, N., Brungard, C., Schallner, J., Brehm, J., McCord, S., Davidson, Z. “SiteKey Tool: connecting ecological sites and monitoring data with a quantitative keying approach,” Presented at the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management. Denver, CO.
  • Heller, A. “Spatial Prediction of Ecosystem State Transitions and Resilience on the Taos Plateau,” Presented at the 2020 Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management. Denver, CO.
  • Heller, A. “Ecological Site Descriptions: Representing Landscape Heterogeneity and Managing for Resilient Native Plant Communities”. Presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Native Plant Society of New Mexico. Silver City, NM.

Grants, Awards & Fellowships

  • Fulbright Research Scholar (Mongolia), Institute of International Education and US Department of State, 2024
  • EMERGE Summer Fellow, National Science Foundation and University of New Hampshire, 2023