312F Aiken Center
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
81 Carrigan Drive
Burlington, VT 05405
United States
- PhD, Environment and Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2013
- MS, Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 1999
- BS, Water Resource Management, University of New Hampshire, 1995
BIO
Kris Stepenuck is the Extension Leader for Lake Champlain Sea Grant Program and Extension Assistant Professor of Watershed Science Policy and Education. As the Extension Leader, she oversees Extension and outreach activities to promote healthy coastal ecosystems, resilient communities, and an environmentally literate populace across the Lake Champlain Basin. Her current efforts focus on community resilience to climate change, clean boating, best winter maintenance practices, and healthy soils. Previously, she managed Wisconsin’s volunteer stream monitoring program for nearly 15 years, expanding the program from a small educational effort to a multi-level educational, research and management-focused endeavor carried out by hundreds of volunteers at more than 600 stream sites across Wisconsin.
Her research interests span both the natural and social sciences, with focus on water resources issues and citizen science. She supports a national network of volunteer water monitoring programs by maintaining a collection of web-based learning modules with best practices, a jobs board, listserv, and events calendar at: www.volunteermonitoring.org. She recently concluded her 3-year term on the inaugural board of directors of the Citizen Science Association, serving most recently as chair, and previously as vice chair and secretary during her term. She currently serves on the Education and Outreach Committee of the Lake Champlain Basin Program and on the Watersheds United Vermont Steering Committee. She is the US co-lead for the Public Advisory Group for the Lake Champlain-Richelieu Flood Study.
Area(s) of expertise
Impacts of land use on water quality, citizen science and volunteer monitoring, understanding outcomes of monitoring and community outreach efforts
Bio
Kris Stepenuck is the Extension Leader for Lake Champlain Sea Grant Program and Extension Assistant Professor of Watershed Science Policy and Education. As the Extension Leader, she oversees Extension and outreach activities to promote healthy coastal ecosystems, resilient communities, and an environmentally literate populace across the Lake Champlain Basin. Her current efforts focus on community resilience to climate change, clean boating, best winter maintenance practices, and healthy soils. Previously, she managed Wisconsin’s volunteer stream monitoring program for nearly 15 years, expanding the program from a small educational effort to a multi-level educational, research and management-focused endeavor carried out by hundreds of volunteers at more than 600 stream sites across Wisconsin.
Her research interests span both the natural and social sciences, with focus on water resources issues and citizen science. She supports a national network of volunteer water monitoring programs by maintaining a collection of web-based learning modules with best practices, a jobs board, listserv, and events calendar at: www.volunteermonitoring.org. She recently concluded her 3-year term on the inaugural board of directors of the Citizen Science Association, serving most recently as chair, and previously as vice chair and secretary during her term. She currently serves on the Education and Outreach Committee of the Lake Champlain Basin Program and on the Watersheds United Vermont Steering Committee. She is the US co-lead for the Public Advisory Group for the Lake Champlain-Richelieu Flood Study.
Areas of Expertise
Impacts of land use on water quality, citizen science and volunteer monitoring, understanding outcomes of monitoring and community outreach efforts
Publications
- Stepenuck, K.F., and K. D. Genskow. In review. Understanding Key Traits of Volunteer Water Monitoring Programs that Report Natural Resource Management and Policy Outcomes. Society & Natural Resources.
- Stepenuck, K.F., and K. D. Genskow. 2018. Characterizing the Breadth and Depth of Volunteer Water Monitoring Programs in the United States. Environmental Management. 61(1): 46-57.
- McKinley, D. C., A. J. Miller-Rushing, H. L. Ballard, R. E. Bonney, H. Brown, S. C. Cook-Patten, D. M. Evans, R. A. French, J. K. Parrish, T.B. Phillips, S. F. Ryan, L. A. Shanley, J. L. Shirk, K. F. Stepenuck, J. F. Weltzin, A. Wiggins, O.D. Boyle, R. D. Briggs, S. F. Chapin III, D. A. Hewitt, P. W. Preuss, and M. A. Soukup. 2017. Citizen Science Can Improve Conservation Science, Natural Resource Management, and Environmental Protection. Biological Conservation. 208, 15-28.
- McKinley, D. C., A. J. Miller-Rushing, H. L. Ballard, R. E. Bonney, H. Brown, D. M. Evans, R. A. French, J. K. Parrish, T.B. Phillips, S. F. Ryan, L. A. Shanley, J. L. Shirk, K. F. Stepenuck, J. F. Weltzin, A. Wiggins, O.
D. Boyle, R. D. Briggs, S. F. Chapin III, D. A. Hewitt, P. W. Preuss, and M. A. Soukup. 2015. Investing in citizen science can improve natural resource management and environmental protection. Issues in Ecology. Report Number 19. - Stepenuck, K.F., and L. Green. 2015. Individual and Community-Level Impacts of Volunteer Environmental Monitoring: A Synthesis of Peer-Reviewed Literature. Ecology and Society. 20(3):19. http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol20/iss3/art19/
- Stepenuck, K.F. 2013. Improving Understanding of Outcomes and Credibility of Volunteer Environmental Monitoring Programs. Doctoral dissertation, The University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- Akin, H., B. Shaw, K.F., Stepenuck, and E. Goers. 2013. Factors Associated with Ongoing Commitment to a Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program. Journal of Extension. 51(3).
- Stepenuck, K., L. Wolfson, B. Liukkonen, J. Iles, and T. Grant. 2011. Volunteer Monitoring of E. coli in Streams of the Upper Midwestern United States: A Comparison of Methods. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 174(1-4): 625-33. Epub 2010 May 8.
- Stepenuck, K., R. Crunkilton, M. Bozek, and L. Wang. 2008. Comparison of Macroinvertebrate-Derived Stream Quality Metrics between Snag and Riffle Habitats. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 44(3): 670-678.
- Overdevest, C., C. Huyck Orr, and K. Stepenuck. 2004. Volunteer Stream Monitoring and Local Participation in Natural Resource Issues. Human Ecology Review. 11(2): 177-185.
- Stepenuck, K.F., R.L. Crunkilton, L. Wang. 2002. Impacts of Urban Land Use on Macroinvertebrate Communities in Southeastern Wisconsin Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 38 (4): 1041-1052.