Current Research

I am a native Californian who became interested in forestry and resource management while attending the University of California, Berkeley. My early experiences in northern California as a logger for a large forest products company and a silviculturist for the Plumas National Forest shaped my interest in public resource management policy and economics, and I earned a Ph.D. in forest management from Oregon State University in 1985. Since joining Forest Service Research in 1987, I have studied public policy issues involving the economics of wildlife protection, metropolitan open space protection, wildfire management, and invasive species management. My approach is to build models of resource management problems and use simulation and optimization methods to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative policies.

Research Interests

I am interested in the optimal control of invasive species and beginning to build and analyze models to help allocate scarce resources among the four invasive species management strategies: prevention, detection, control, and rehabilitation. I am aware of the inherent uncertainties of the invasion process and have promising ideas about how to model this uncertainty and measure its effects on resource allocation strategies.

Why This Research is Important

My work is important because public resource managers allocate significant resources to protect endangered species, open space, and forests from unwanted disturbances associated with urban development, wildfire, and invasive species. My work provides information to decision makers about the benefits and costs of alternative protection strategies.

Education

• Oregon State University, Ph.D. Forest Management 1985
• University of California, B.S. Forestry 1978

Professional Organizations

• Society of American Foresters (SAF)
• Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS)

Featured Publications & Products

• Binder, Seth; Haight, Robert G.; Polasky, Stephen; Warziniack, Travis; Mockrin, Miranda H.; Deal, Robert L.; Arthaud, Greg. 2017. Assessment and valuation of forest ecosystem services: State of the science review.
• Büyüktahtakın, İ. Esra; Haight, Robert G. 2018. A review of operations research models in invasive species management: state of the art, challenges, and future directions.
• Snyder, Stephanie A.; Haight, Robert G. 2016. Application of the maximal covering location problem to habitat reserve site selection: a review.

Publications

• Yemshanov, Denys ; Haight, Robert G.; Liu, Ning ; Chen, Cuicui ; MacQuarrie, Chris J.K.; Ryall, Krista ; Venette, Robert ; Koch, Frank H. 2019. Acceptance sampling for cost-effective surveillance of emerald ash borer in urban environments.
• Cobourn, Kelly M.; Amacher, Gregory S.; Haight, Robert G. 2019. Cooperative Management of Invasive Species: A Dynamic Nash Bargaining Approach.
• Yemshanov, Denys ; Haight, Robert G.; Koch, Frank H.; Venette, Robert C.; Swystun, Tom ; Fournier, Ronald E.; Marcotte, Mireille ; Chen, Yongguang ; Turgeon, Jean J. 2019. Optimizing surveillance strategies for early detection of invasive alien species.
• Yemshanov, Denys ; Haight, Robert G.; Koch, Frank H.; Parisien, Marc-André ; Swystun, Tom ; Barber, Quinn ; Burton, A. Cole; Choudhury, Salimur ; Liu, Ning . 2019. Prioritizing restoration of fragmented landscapes for wildlife conservation: A graph-theoretic approach.
• Domke, G. ; Williams, C. A.; Birdsey, R. ; Coulston, J. ; Finzi, A. ; Gough, C. ; Haight, B. ; Hicke, J. ; Janowiak, M. ; de Jong, B. ; Kurz, W. A.; Lucash, M. ; Ogle, S. ; Olguín-Álvarez, M. ; Pan, Y. ; Skutsch, M. ; Smyth, C. ; Swanston, C. ; Templer, P. ; Wear, D. ; Woodall, C. W. 2018. Chapter 9: Forests.
• Siriwardena, Shyamani D.; Cobourn, Kelly M.; Amacher, Gregory S.; Haight, Robert G. 2018. Cooperative bargaining to manage invasive species in jurisdictions with public and private lands.
• Chen, Cuicui ; Epanchin-Niell, Rebecca S.; Haight, Robert G. 2018. Optimal Inspection of Imports to Prevent Invasive Pest Introduction.
• Yemshanov, Denys; Haight, Robert G.; Koch, Frank H.; Venette, Robert; Studens, Kala; Fournier, Ronald E.; Swystun, Tom; Turgeon, Jean J.; Gao, Yulin. 2017. A safety rule approach to surveillance and eradication of biological invasions.
• Bluffstone, R.; Coulston, J.; Haight, R.G.; Kline, J.; Polasky, S.; Wear, D.N.; Zook, K. 2017. Estimated values of carbon sequestration resulting from forest management scenarios.
• Holmes, Thomas P.; Allen, Will; G. Haight, Robert; Keskitalo, E. Carina H.; Marzano, Mariella; Pettersson, Maria; P. Quine, Christopher; Langer, E. R. 2017. Fundamental economic irreversibilities influence policies for enhancing international forest phytosanitary security.
• Kovacs, Kent ; Haight, Robert G.; West, Grant . 2017. Protected Area Designation, Natural Amenities, and Rural Development of Forested Counties in the Continental United States.
• Yemshanov, Denys; Haight, Robert G.; Koch, Frank H.; Lu, Bo; Venette, Robert C.; Fournier, Ronald E.; Turgeon, Jean J. 2017. Robust surveillance and control of invasive species using a scenario optimization approach.
• Marzano, Mariella ; Allen, W. ; Haight, R.G.; Holmes, T.P.; Keskitalo, E. Carina H.; Langer, E.R. Lisa; Shadbolt, M. ; Urquhart, J. ; Dandy, N. . 2017. The role of the social sciences and economics in understanding and informing tree biosecurity policy and planning: a global summary and synthesis.
• Phillips-Mao, Laura; Galatowitsch, Susan M.; Snyder, Stephanie A.; Haight, Robert G. 2016. Model-based scenario planning to develop climate change adaptation strategies for rare plant populations in grassland reserves.
• Berec, Ludek; Kean, John M.; Epanchin-Niell, Rebecca; Liebhold, Andrew M.; Haight, Robert G. 2015. Designing efficient surveys: spatial arrangement of sample points for detection of invasive species.
• Yemshanov, Denys; Haight, Robert G.; Koch, Frank H.; Lu, Bo; Venette, Robert; Lyons, D. Barry; Scarr, Taylor; Ryall, Krista; Leung, Brian. 2015. Optimal allocation of invasive species surveillance with the maximum expected coverage concept.
• Kovacs, Kent F.; Haight, Robert G.; Mercader, Rodrigo J.; McCullough, Deborah G. 2014. A bioeconomic analysis of an emerald ash borer invasion of an urban forest with multiple jurisdictions.
• Fackler, Paul L.; Haight, Robert G. 2014. Monitoring as a partially observable decision problem.
• Perhans, Karin; Haight, Robert G.; Gustafsson, Lena. 2014. The value of information in conservation planning: Selecting retention trees for lichen conservation.
• Burns, Eileen S.; Toth, Sandor F.; Haight, Robert G. 2013. A modeling framework for life history-based conservation planning.
• Lee, Yohan; Fried, Jeremy S.; Albers, Heidi J.; Haight, Robert G. 2013. Deploying initial attack resources for wildfire suppression: spatial coordination, budget constraints, and capacity constraints.
• Horie, Tetsuya; Haight, Robert G.; Homans, Frances R.; Venette, Robert C. 2013. Optimal strategies for the surveillance and control of forest pathogens: A case study with oak wilt.
• Kovacs, Kent F.; Haight, Robert G.; Jung, Suhyun; Locke, Dexter H.; O'Neil-Dunne, Jarlath. 2013. The marginal cost of carbon abatement from planting street trees in New York City.
• Busby, Gwenlyn; Amacher, Gregory S.; Haight, Robert G. 2013. The social costs of homeowner decisions in fire-prone communities: information, insurance, and amenities.
• Sander, Heather A.; Haight, Robert G. 2012. Estimating the economic value of cultural ecosystem services in an urbanizing area using hedonic pricing.
• Epanchin-Niell, Rebecca S.; Haight, Robert G.; Berec, Ludek; Kean, John M.; Liebhold, Andrew M. 2012. Optimal surveillance and eradication of invasive species in heterogeneous landscapes.
• Hyytiäinen, Kari; Haight, Robert G. 2012. Optimizing continuous cover forest management. Chapter 6..
• Haight, Robert G.; Homans, Frances R.; Horie, Tetsuya; Mehta, Shefali V.; Smith, David J.; Venette, Robert C. 2011. Assessing the cost of an invasive forest pathogen; A case study with oak wilt.
• Toth, Sandor F.; Haight, Robert G.; Rogers, Luke W. 2011. Dynamic reserve selection: Optimal land retention with land-price feedbacks.
• Aukema, Juliann E.; Leung, Brian; Kovacs, Kent; Chivers, Corey; Englin, Jeffrey; Frankel, Susan J.; Haight, Robert G.; Holmes, Thomas P.; Liebhold, Andrew M.; McCullough, Deborah G.; Von Holle, Betsy. 2011. Economic Impacts of Non-Native Forest Insects in the Continental United States.
• Kovacs, Kent; Václavík, Tomas; Haight, Robert G.; Pang, Arwin; Cunniffe, Nik J.; Gilligan, Christopher A.; Meentemeyer, Ross K. 2011. Predicting the economic costs and property value losses attributed to sudden oak death damage in California (2010-2020).
• Kovacs, Kent F.; Mercader, Rodrigo J.; Haight, Robert G.; Siegert, Nathan W.; McCullough, Deborah G.; Liebhold, Andrew M. 2011. The influence of satellite populations of emerald ash borer on projected economic damage in U.S. communities, 2010-2020.
• Kovacs, Kent F.; Haight, Robert G.; Liebhold, Andrew M.; McCullough, Deborah G.; Mercader, Rodrigo J.; Siegert, Nathan W. 2010. Cost of potential emerald ash borer damage in U.S.
• Kovacs, Kent F.; Haight, Robert G.; McCullough, Deborah G.; Mercader, Rodrigo J.; Siegert, Nathan W.; Liebhold, Andrew M. 2010. Cost of potential emerald ash borer damage in U.S communities, 2009-2019.
• Hyytiainen, Kari; Haight, Robert G. 2010. Evaluation of forest management systems under risk of wildfire.
• Haight, Robert G.; Polasky, Stephen. 2010. Optimal control of an invasive species with imperfect information about the level of infestation.
• Sander, Heather; Polasky, Stephen; Haight, Robert. 2010. The value of urban tree cover: A hedonic property price model in Ramsey and Dakota Counties, Minnesota, USA.
• Haight, Robert G.; Mehta, S.V.; Horie, T.; Smith, D.J.; Venette, R.C.; Homans, F.R.; Walter, A.J. 2009. An economic impact assessment for oak wilt in Anoka County, Minnesota.
• Haight, Robert G.; Kovacs, Kent; Liebhold, Andrew M.; McCullough, Deborah G. 2009. Economic assessment of potential emerald ash borer damage in urban areas in the United States.
• Haight, Robert G.; Snyder, Stephanie A. 2009. Integer programming methods for reserve selection and design.
• Miller, James R.; Snyder, Stephanie A.; Skibbe, A.M.; Haight, Robert G. 2009. Prioritizing conservation targets in a rapidly urbanizing landscape.
• Toth, Sandor F.; Haight, Robert; Snyder, Stephanie A.; George, Sonney; Miller, James R.; Gregory, Mark S.; Skibbe, Adam M. 2009. Reserve selection with minimum contiguous area restrictions: An application to open space protection planning in suburban Chicago.
• Haight, Robert G.; Gobster, Paul H. 2009. Social and economic considerations for planning wildlife conservation in large landscapes.
• Tajibaeva, Liaila; Haight, Robert G.; Polasky, Stephen. 2008. A discrete-space urban model with environmental amenities.
• Mercer, D. Evan; Haight, Robert G.; Prestemon, Jeffrey P. 2008. Analyzing trade-offs between fuels management, suppression, and damages from wildfire.
• Haight, Robert G.; Travis, Laurel E. 2008. Reserve design to maximize species persistence.
• Haight, Robert G.; Fried, Jeremy S. 2007. Deploying wildland fire suppression resources with a scenario-based standard response model.
• Haight, Robert G.; Fried, Jeremy S. 2007. Deploying wildland fire suppression resources with a scenario-based standard response model..
• Snyder, Stephanie A.; Miller, James R.; Skibbe, Adam M.; Haight, Robert G. 2007. Habitat acquisition strategies for grassland birds in an urbanizing landscape.
• Mehta, Shefali V.; Haight, Robert G.; Homans, Frances R.; Polasky, Stephen; Venette, Robert C. 2007. Optimal detection and control strategies for invasive species management.
• Hof, John; Haight, Robert. 2007. Optimization of forest wildlife objectives.
• Amacher, Gregory S.; Malik, Arun S.; Haight, Robert G. 2006. Reducing social losses from forest fires.
• Amacher, Gregory S.; Malik, Arun S.; Haight, Robert G. 2005. Forest landowner decisions and the value of information under fire risk..
• Haight, Robert G.; Snyder, Stephanie A.; Revelle, Charles S. 2005. Metropolitan open-space protection with uncertain site availability.
• Amacher, Gregory S.; Malik, Arun S. ; Haight, Robert G. . 2005. Not Getting Burned: The Importance of Fire.
• Snyder, Stephanie A.; Haight, Robert G.; ReVelle, Charles S. 2004. A scenario optimization model for dynamic reserve site selection.
• Haight, Robert G.; Cleland, David T.; Hammer, Roger B.; Radeloff, Volker C.; Rupp, T. Scott. 2004. Assessing fire risk in the wildland-urban interface.
• Haight, Robert G.; Cleland, David T.; Hammer, Roger B.; Radeloff, Volker B.; Rupp, T. Scott. 2004. Assessing fire risk in the wildland-urban interface..
• Gobster, Paul H.; Haight, Robert G. 2004. From landscapes to lots: understanding and managing Midwestern landscape change..
• Snyder, Stephanie; ReVelle, Charles; Haight, Robert. 2004. One- and two-objective approaches to an area-constrained habitat reserve site selection problem.
• Haight, Robert G.; Cypher, Brian; Kelly, Patrick A.; Phillips, Scott; Ralls, Katherine; Possingham, Hugh P. 2004. Optimizing reserve expansion for disjunct populations of San Joaquin kit fox.
• Arthur, Jeffrey L.; Camm, Jeffrey D.; Haight, Robert G.; Montgomery, Claire A.; Polasky, Stephen. 2004. Weighing conservation objectives: maximum expected coverage versus endangered species protection.
• Ruliffson, Jane A.; Haight, Robert G.; Gobster, Paul H.; Homans, Frances R. 2003. Metropolitan natural area protection to maximize public access and species representation.
• Cochrane, Jean Fitts; Haight, Robert G.; Starfield, Anthony M. 2003. Modeling for Endangered-Species Recovery: Gray Wolves in the Western Great Lakes Region.
• ​Arthur, Jeffrey L.; Haight, Robert G.; Montgomery, Claire A.; Polasky, Stephen . 2002. Analysis of the threshold and expected coverage approaches to the pobabilistic reserve site selection problem.
• Haight, Robert G.; Travis, Laurel E.; Nimerfro, Kevin; Mech, L. David. 2002. Computer simulation of wolf-removal strategies for animal damage control.
• Ruliffson, Jane A.; Gobster, Paul H.; Haight, Robert G.; Homans, Francis R. 2002. Niches in the urban forest: Organizations and their role in acquiring metropolitan open space..
• Haight, Robert G.; Cypher, Brian; Kelly, Patrick A.; Phillips, Scott; Possingham, Hugh P.; Ralls, Katherine; Starfield, Anthony M.; White, P.J.; Williams, Daniel. 2002. Optimizing habitat protection using demographic models of population viability..
• Haight, Robert G. 2000. A Michigan Monarch Recovered in Mexico.
• Haight, Robert G.; Revelle, Charles S.; Snyder, Stephanie A. 2000. An Integer Optimization Approch To A Probabilistic Reserve Site Selection Problem.
• Haight, Robert G.; Ralls, Katherine; Starfield, Anthony M. 2000. Designing Species Translocation Strategies When Populaton Growth and Future Funding Are Uncertain.
• Gobster, Paul H.; Haight, Robert G.; Shriner, David S. 2000. Integrated Research on Midwestern Landscape Change: A Program Description and Progress Report.
• Gobster, Paul H.; Haight, Robert G.; Shriner, Dave. 2000. Landscape Change in the Midwest: An Integrated Research and Development Program.
• Snyder, Stephanie A.; Tyrrell, Lucy E.; Haight, Robert G. 1999. An optimization approach to selecting research natural areas in National Forests.
• Haight, Robert G.; Mladenoff, David J.; Wydeven , Adrian P. 1998. Modeling Disjunct Gray Wolf Populations in Semi-Wild Landscapes.
• Haight, Robert G.; Travis, Laurel E. 1997. Wildlife Conservation Planning Using Stochastic Optimization and Importance Sampling.
• Haight, Robert G. 1995. Comparing extinction risk and economic cost in wildlife conservation planning.
• Lorimer, Nancy D.; Haight, Robert G.; Leary, Rolfe A. 1994. The fractal forest: fractal geometry and applications in forest science..
• Haight, Robert G.; Holmes, Thomas P. 1991. Stochastic Price Models and Optimal Tree Cutting: Results for Loblolly Pine.
• Allg, Ralph J.; Hohenstein, William G.; Murray, Brian C.; Haight, Robert G. 1990. Changes in Area of Timberland in the United States, 1952-2040, By Ownership, Forest Type, Region, and State.
• Haight, Robert G.; Monserud, Robert A. 1990. Optimizing any-aged management of mixed-species stands: II. effects of decision criteria.
• Haight, Robert G.; Getz, Wayne M. 1987. Fixed and equilibrium endpoint problems in uneven-aged stand management.
• Haight, Robert G. 1985. A comparison of dynamic and static economic models of uneven-aged stand management.
• Haight, Robert G.; Brodie, J. Douglas; Adams, Darius M. 1985. Optimizing the sequence of diameter distributions and selection harvests for uneven-aged stand management.

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
NRS-2012-05	Balanced Approach to Surveillance Reduces the Costs of Invasive Species Detection and Control New planning tool helps organizations make decisions on where and how much money to spend on invasive pests detection programs	2012
NRS-2010-008	Cost of Potential Emerald Ash Borer Damage to United States Communities for 2009-2019 Emerald ash borer (EAB), a nonnative invasive bark boring beetle discovered near Detroit, MI, and Windsor, Ontario, in 2002, is now found in fou ...	2010
NRS-2012-18	Feedbacks Through the Land Market Affect Success of Open Space Conservation Policy A new planning tool helps decide which land parcels to save	2012
NRS-2016-90	For the Rare Prairie Orchid, Science is Making Climate Change Local Forest Service researchers, along with their research partners from the University of Minnesota, are helping land managers answer key questions ...	2016
NRS-2013-067	Improving the Deployment of Wildland Fire Suppression Resources While managers typically aim to minimize the number of escaped fires, they have limited funds to acquire suppression resources or construct oper ...	2013
NRS-2014-063	Municipal Cooperation in Managing Emerald Ash Borer Increases Urban Forest Benefits The best approach to managing an emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation is to fight it like a human health epidemic. Just as epidemiologists cannot ...	2014
NRS-2011-13	Non-native Forest Pathogens Cost Homeowners Millions of Dollars Annually Two big killers of residential trees--the oak wilt pathogen in the East and the sudden oak death (SOD) pathogen in the West cost homeowners mill ...	2011
NRS-2013-068	Protecting Habitat for Bats in the Face of Development Pressure Wildlife managers and planners make their best estimates of where to purchase or acquire conservation easements on areas for habitat protection ...	2013
NRS-2017-13	Scientists conduct assessment and valuation of forest ecosystem services Ecosystems provide many goods and services that enable and enrich human life, from traditional natural resources, such as timber, fish, and edib ...	2017
NRS-2013-070	The Value of Urban Tree Cover Forest Service researchers are estimating how much home buyers are willing to spend for greater neighborhood tree cover; and, the results for ho ...	2013