Current Research

Homelessness and Non-recreational Camping on National Forests and Grasslands. A survey of law enforcement officers in 2015 revealed interesting patterns in residential use of national forests and grasslands. Long-term encampments have implications for the biophysical environment as well as the social environment. Cleaning up sites after extended use requires significant resources. Research Partners: Oregon State University; San Jose State University.

Forest Collaboratives as Enduring Forms of Resource Governance. Over the past 20 years, there has been a proliferation of community-based collaborative groups throughout the western US. Federal, tribal, state, and local agencies as well as non-governmental organizations are forming collaboratives to address resource needs at multiple scales. Two studies are underway to explore the structure and function of forest collaboratives. One study examines forest collaboratives in Oregon, Washington and Idaho to understand the relationship between formal governance mechanisms and collaborative success. A second study examines social networks and community capacity in forest collaboratives in the Blue Mountains region of Oregon. Research Partners: Oregon State University Extension; Portland State University.

Human Ecology Mapping. This body of work explores how socio-spatial tools can be developed to collect information about human values, land uses, and forest benefits for use in forest planning. We began this work on the Olympic National Forest in Washington with a participatory mapping project to understand human-forest interactions on the landscape scale. We also helped the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest develop a protocol for collecting public use data on priority forest roads and destinations. A current project focuses on the Deschutes and Ochoco National Forests where we are developing a tool for gathering public information about special forest places. Research Partner: Portland State University, Institute for Sustainable Solutions.

Residential Location Decisions at the Urban-Wildland Interface. This project focuses on understanding the role of nature and public lands in shaping the values and residential choices of residents at the outer ring of King County (Seattle). Specifically, we seek to understand the factors that influence people to live in and move to suburban and exurban communities, the role of nature and public lands in their daily decisions, and the diversity of environmental values, attitudes, and behaviors held by suburban and exurban residents. Research Partner: Oregon State University.

Science, Planning and Decision-making in the Forest Service. Several studies have explored aspects of natural resource planning and decision-making. One study examined the role of values in resource planning and decision-making for riparian recreation. Another study investigated the interactions between scientists and managers and the role of scientific information in recreation decision-making. A third study explored implementation of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and the use of scientific tools and interdisciplinary teams for NEPA projects in recreation and travel management. Two current studies investigate the role of social science information in forest planning. Research Partners: University of Washington; Virginia Tech University; Portland State University.

Research Interests

Natural resource governance, recreation and human use planning for public land management agencies, the public health benefits of public lands

Past Research

Tourism and Community Change. Tourism is an industry that often sprouts in rural regions rich in natural and cultural resources. Tourism provides seasonal employment and also has the capacity to alter resident relationships with their communities and the environment. In 2000-2004, I conducted research on tourism in Southeast Alaska which is host to cruise ships, charter fishing guests, and adventure travelers. This resulted in several published technical reports, manuscripts, and a book, Nature and Tourists in the Last Frontier (2008). Tourism remains a research interest, although no current studies are underway.

Forest Service Partnerships. This research on Forest Service partnerships was developed in consultation with the National Partnership Office, Washington, DC. This multi-phased study seeks to identify the types of partners working with the US Forest Service, the diversity of work in which partners are engaged, the structure and function of partnerships, motivations to partner, and the benefits and challenges associated with partnerships. The study is currently in its third phase, a national survey of 13 national forests. Research Partner: North Carolina State University.

Education

• Syracuse University, Ph.D. Anthropology 2004
• Northern Arizona University, M.A. Anthropology 1993
• Dartmouth College, B.A. History 1987

Awards & Recognition

Featured Publications & Products

• Seekamp, Erin; Cerveny, Lee K. 2010. Conceptualization of interactions between partners and the U.S. Forest Service.
• Stern, Mac J.; Blahna, Dale J.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Mortimer, Michael J. 2009. Visions of success and achievement in recreation-related USDA Forest Service NEPA processes.
• Cerveny, Lee K.; Ryan, Clare M. 2008. Agency capacity for recreation science and management: the case of the U.S. Forest Service..
• Cerveny, Lee K. 2007. Sociocultural effects of tourism in Hoonah, Alaska..
• Cerveny, Lee K. 2005. Tourism and its effects on southeast Alaska communities and resources: case studies from Haines, Craig, and Hoonah, Alaska..

Publications

• Watts, Andrea ; Cerveny, Lee . 2021. Making a home in the forest: Nonrecreational camping on national forests and grasslands.
• Havlick, David G.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Derrien, Monika M. 2021. Therapeutic landscapes, outdoor programs for veterans, and public lands.
• Johnson, Adelaide ; Clavijo, Audrey E.; Hamar, Glenn ; Head, Deborah-Aanutein ; Thoms, Andrew ; Price, Wayne ; Lapke, Arianna ; Crotteau, Justin ; Cerveny, Lee K.; Wilmer, Hailey ; Petershoare, Lillian ; Cook, Andrea ; Reid, Sienna . 2021. Wood products for cultural uses: Sustaining native resilience and vital lifeways in Southeast Alaska, USA.
• Cerveny, Lee K.; Derrien, Monika M.; Miller, Anna B., eds. 2020. A research strategy for enhancing sustainable recreation and tourism on public lands.
• Miller, Anna B.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Derrien, Monika M.; Selin, Steven ; Blahna, Dale J. 2020. A research strategy to ignite the science of outdoor recreation on public lands.
• Selin, Steven ; Cerveny, Lee K.; Blahna, Dale J.; Milnor, Adam ; Valenzuela, Francisco ; Schlafmann, Mike . 2020. Chapter 13: Organizational change and operationalizing sustainable recreation lessons learned from two natural resource governance cases.
• Selin, Steven ; Blahna, Dale J.; Cerveny, Lee K. 2020. Chapter 14: How can collaboration contribute to sustainable recreation management.
• Blahna, Dale J.; Valenzuela, Francisco ; Selin, Steven ; Cerveny, Lee K.; Schlafmann, Mike ; McCool, Stephen F. 2020. Chapter 1: The shifting outdoor recreation paradigm: Time for change.
• Cerveny, Lee K.; Selin, Steven ; Blahna, Dale J.; Meier, Noelle ; Barborak, James R.; McCool, Stephen F. 2020. Chapter 2: Agency capacity for effective outdoor recreation and tourism management.
• Sanchez, Jose J.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Blahna, Dale J.; Valenzuela, Francisco ; Schlafmann, Mike . 2020. Chapter 3: Recreation opportunities and human connections on public lands: Constraints that limit recreation participation.
• Blahna, Dale J.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Williams, Daniel R.; Kline, Jeffrey D.; Helmer, Matthew ; McCool, Stephen F.; Valenzuela, Francisco . 2020. Chapter 5: Rethinking outdoor recreation to account for the diversity of human experiences and connections to public lands.
• Cerveny, Lee K.; Sánchez, José J.; Helmer, Matthew ; Milnor, Adam . 2020. Chapter 8: Public lands, tourism, and community connections.
• Selin, Steven ; Cerveny, Lee K.; Blahna, Dale J.; Miller, Anna B., eds. 2020. Igniting research for outdoor recreation: linking science, policy, and action.
• Helmer, Matthew ; Lipton, Jennifer ; Snitker, Grant ; Hackenberger, Steven ; Triplett, Mallory ; Cerveny, Lee . 2020. Mapping heritage ecosystem services in ecological restoration areas: A case study from the East Cascades, Washington.
• Penaluna, Brooke E.; Shively, Dan ; Roper, Brett B.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Witt, Shelly ; Rothlisberger, John D. 2020. Mentoring relates to job satisfaction for fish biologists: a longitudinal study of the USDA Forest Service.
• Derrien, Monika ; Cerveny, Lee ; Havlick, David G. 2020. Outdoor programs for veterans: Public land policies and practices to support therapeutic opportunities.
• Cerveny, Lee; Derrien, Monika; Miller, Anna B. 2020. Shared stewardship and national scenic trails: Building on a legacy of partnerships.
• Cerveny, Lee ; Baur, Joshua R. 2019. Homelessness and nonrecreational camping on national forests and grasslands in the United States: Law enforcement perspectives and regional trends.
• Biedenweg, Kelly ; Williams, Katherine ; Cerveny, Lee ; Styers, Diane . 2019. Is recreation a landscape value : Exploring underlying values in landscape values mapping.
• Winter, Patricia L.; Selin, Steven ; Cerveny, Lee ; Bricker, Kelly . 2019. Outdoor recreation, nature-based tourism, and sustainability.
• Baur, Joshua W.R.; Cerveny, Lee . 2019. Social impacts of homelessness and long-term occupancy on national forests and grasslands: A national study of U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officers.
• Spies, Thomas ; Long, Jonathan ; Charnley, Susan ; Hessburg, Paul ; Marcot, Bruce ; Reeves, Gordon ; Lesmeister, Damon ; Reilly, Matthew ; Cerveny, Lee ; Stine, Peter ; Raphael, Martin G. 2019. Twenty five years of the Northwest Forest Plan: what have we learned.
• Charnley, Susan ; Jaworski, Delilah ; Huber-Stearns, Heidi ; White, Eric M.; Grinspoon, Elisabeth ; McLain, Rebecca J.; Cerveny, Lee . 2018. Chapter 10: Environmental justice, low-income and minority populations, and forest management in the northwest forest plan area.
• Spies, Thomas A.; Long, Jonathan W.; Stine, Peter ; Charnley, Susan ; Cerveny, Lee ; Marcot, Bruce G.; Reeves, Gordon ; Hessburg, Paul F.; Lesmeister, Damon ; Reilly, Matthew J.; Raphael, Martin G.; Davis, Raymond J. 2018. Chapter 12: Integrating ecological and social science to inform land management in the area of the northwest forest plan.
• Cerveny, Lee K.; Davis, Emily Jane; McLain, Rebecca ; Ryan, Clare M.; Whitall, Debra R.; White, Eric M. 2018. Chapter 9: Understanding our changing public values, resource uses, and engagement processes and practices.
• Styers, Diane M.; Dobbs, G. Rebecca; Cerveny, Lee K.; Hayes, Isaac T. 2018. Geovisualization of socio-spatial data on outdoor activities and values in the Southern Appalachians.
• Koch, Geoff; Cerveny, Lee. 2018. Going beyond the biophysical when mapping national forests.
• Ryan, C. M.; Cerveny, L. K.; Robinson, T. L.; Blahna, D. J. 2018. Implementing the 2012 forest planning rule: Best available scientific information in forest planning assessments.
• Davis, Emily J.; Cerveny, Lee; Ulrich, Donald R.; Nuss, Meagan L. . 2018. Making and breaking trust in forest collaborative groups.
• Davis, Emily Jane; White, Eric M.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Seesholtz, David; Nuss, Meagan L.; Ulrich, Donald R. 2017. Comparison of USDA Forest Service and stakeholder motivations and experiences in collaborative federal forest governance in the Western United States.
• Cerveny, Lee Karol; Biedenweg, Kelly; McLain, Rebecca. 2017. Mapping meaningful places on Washington's Olympic Peninsula: Toward a deeper understanding of landscape values.
• McLain, Rebecca J.; Banis, David; Todd, Alexa; Cerveny, Lee K. 2017. Multiple methods of public engagement: Disaggregating socio-spatial data for environmental planning in western Washington, USA.
• Harner, John; Cerveny, Lee; Gronewold, Rebecca. 2017. Participatory mapping in Browns Canyon National Monument, Colorado (USA).
• Williams, Katherine; Biedenweg, Kelly; Cerveny, Lee. 2017. Understanding ecosystem service preferences across residential classifications near Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington (USA)..
• Donovan, Geoffrey H.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Gatziolis, Demetrios. 2016. If you build it, will they come.
• Pringle, Richard J.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Bradley, Gordon A. 2015. Implementation of the Forest Service Open Space Conservation Strategy in Washington State: Exploring the Role of the National Forest System.
• McLain, R.; Cerveny, L.; Montesano, Paul M.; Beaudoin, André; Sun, Guoqing; Andersen, Hans-Erik; Wulder, Michael A.; Rohdy, S. 2015. Mapping human environment connections on the Olympic Peninsula: an atlas of landscape values.
• Besser, Diane T.; McLain, Rebecca; Cerveny, Lee K.; Biedenweg, Kelly; Banis, David. 2014. Mapping landscape values: issues, challenges and lessons learned from fieldwork on the Olympic Peninsula, Washington.
• Biedenweg, Kelly; Cerveny, Lee; McLain, Rebecca J. 2014. Values mapping with Latino forest users: Contributing to the dialogue on multiple land use conflict management.
• McLain, Rebecca; Poe, Melissa R.; Biedenweg, Kelly; Cerveny, Lee K.; Besser, Diane; Blahna, Dale J. 2013. Making sense of human ecology mapping: an overview of approaches to integrating socio-spatial data into environmental planning.
• Tilt, Jenna H.; Cerveny, Lee. 2013. Master-planned in exurbia: examining the drivers and impacts of master-planned communities at the urban fringe.
• McCreary, Allie E.; Seekamp, Erin; Cerveny, Lee. 2012. Recreation partnerships on national forests: The influences of institutional commitment and urban proximity on agency capacity.
• Trusty, Teressa; Cerveny, Lee K. 2012. The role of discretion in recreation decision-making by resource professionals in the USDA Forest Service.
• Mortimer, Michael J.; Stern, Marc J.; Malmsheimer, Robert W.; Blahna, Dale J.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Seesholtz, David N. 2011. Environmental and social risks: defensive National Environmental Policy Act in the US Forest Service.
• Cerveny, Lee K.; Blahna, Dale J.; Stern, Marc J.; Mortimer, Michael J.; Freeman, James W. 2011. Forest Service interdisciplinary teams: size, composition, and leader characteristics.
• Seekamp, Erin; Cerveny, Lee K.; McCreary, Allie. 2011. Institutional, individual, and socio-cultural domains of partnerships: a typology of USDA Forest Service recreation partners.
• Freeman, James W.; Stern, Marc J.; Mortimer, Michael; Blahna, Dale J.; Cerveny, Lee K. 2011. Interdisciplinary collaboration within project-level NEPA teams in the US Forest Service.
• Cerveny, Lee K.; Blahna, Dale J.; Stern, Marc J.; Mortimer, Michael J.; Predmore, S. Andrew; Freeman, James. 2011. The use of recreation planning tools in U.S. Forest Service NEPA assessments.
• Charnley, Susan; Cerveny, Lee K. 2011. US Forest Service experimental forests and ranges: an untapped resource for social science.
• Seekamp, Erin; Cerveny, Lee K. 2010. Examining USDA Forest Service recreation partnerships: institutional and relational interactions.
• Ryan, Clare M.; Cerveny, Lee K. 2010. Science exchange in an era of diminished capacity: recreation management in the U.S. Forest Service.
• Cerveny, Lee K. 2004. Preliminary research findings from a study of the sociocultural effects of tourism in Haines, Alaska..

Research Highlights

Highlight	Title	Year
PNW-2018-32	Access to partners and volunteers linked to sociopolitical setting of national forest A national survey of Forest Service officials illuminates challenges and opportunities for partnering that varied based on setting. The sociopo ...	2018
PNW-2018-117	Communities, economies, and the Northwest Forest Plan: 24 years later Social and economic conditions in rural communities have changed since the Northwest Forest Plan was enacted in 1994. A synthesis of research ex ...	2018
PNW-2019-62	Diverse Connections and Barriers to Outdoor Inclusion: Learning from Latinx Recreation Users Today’s land managers need current information about user preferences and desired setting features. In addition to learning about setting and ...	2019
PNW-2019-47	Diversity and Inclusion in the Wildland Fire Workforce: A Forest Service Case Study Women and people of color in the wildland fire workforce face unique challenges. These findings from a USDA Forest Service case study can be use ...	2019
PNW-2016-263	Human Ecology Mapping Reveals Public Priorities for Forest Destinations and Roads Public land managers often must prioritize among ongoing construction and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities valued by the public. Hum ...	2016
PNW-2013-008	Interactive Mapping Project Advances All Lands Conservation Mapping human connections both on and off the forest helps land managers better anticipate how changes to access in other jurisdictions may affe ...	2013
PNW-2018-119	Interactive mapping process highlights values and visitor use in Browns Canyon National Monument Whitewater boating, hiking, and visiting historic sites are common activities in the monument. Local residents are more likely to visit places t ...	2018
PNW-2015-33	Oregon Forest Collaboratives: What Are the Similarities and Differences Among Them? Collaboration is a currently a popular approach to resolving conflict around national forest management, particularly in regard to forest health ...	2015
PNW-2020-91	Outdoor Programs for Veterans Offer Therapeutic Opportunities on Public Lands Lee Cerveny and Monika Derrien, research social scientists with the Pacific Northwest Research Station, examined how outdoor programs for veter ...	2020
PNW-2015-32	Outdoor Recreation Study Maps the Places People Love Going to the people: Shoppers at farmers’ markets in King County, Wash., shared information about their favorite places for outdoor recreation ...	2015