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Jason Williams
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C. Jason Williams
Research Leader and Supervisory Research Hydrologist

Northwest Watershed Research Center
USDA-Agricultural Research Service
251 E Front Street, Suite 400
Boise, ID 83702
Email: jason.williams@usda.gov

  

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Research Interests

I am a Research Leader and Supervisory Research Hydrologist with the USDA-ARS Northwest Watershed Research Center. I study the effects of disturbances (e.g., plant community transitions, invasive species, climate, and wildland fire) and conservation/restoration practices on vegetation, soils, and hydrologic and erosion processes spanning the rangeland to dry forest continuum in the western US. I also lead a team of scientists in the management and enhancement of the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model and contribute substantively to advancement of other hydrology and erosion models. My research focuses on improving scientific understanding of eco-hydrologic and erosion processes and providing land management agencies, private landowners, and other entities with knowledge, models, and other tools to better assess and manage wildland resources.

Current Projects

  • Quantify the impacts of pinyon and juniper woodland expansion and removal on vegetation, soils, soil water availability, and runoff and erosion processes on western US rangelands.
  • Characterize the effects of biocrust cover on infiltration, runoff generation, and erosion on southwestern US rangelands and woodlands.
  • Quantify spatial and temporal variability of soil water repellency and its effect on infiltration into unburned and burned soils along the rangeland-to-dry forest continuum in the western US.
  • Improve understanding and advance modelling of hydrologic and erosion processes and process connectivity for rangeland, woodland, and dry forest landscapes.
  • Evaluate utility of extensive national datasets to characterize and assess broadscale plant community patterns and transitions, populate conceptual ecological and quantitative hydrologic and erosion models, quantify ecological conditions and hydrologic function, and examine and guide wildland management practices.

Education and Background

I have a diverse education and background in Natural Resources. I received an undergraduate degree in Forest Resources - Ecosystem Management from University of Idaho in 1996 and a graduate degree in Geology-Hydrologic Sciences from Boise State University in 2005. I received a doctoral degree in Water Resources from the University of Idaho in 2015. My earliest work in natural resources was with the USDA-Forest Service in Alaska, Idaho, and Washington and spanned multiple discipline areas including hydrology, integrated resource inventory, reforestation, silviculture, timber, and wildland fire fighting. I worked as a Hydrologic Technician for Boise State University in 2005-2006, researching streamflow generation, ground water and surface water interaction, and ecohydrologic feedbacks between vegetation, soil, and the atmosphere. My research with USDA-ARS began at the Northwest Watershed Research Center in Boise, ID, in 2006. There, I worked as a Hydrologist and Research Hydrologist spanning 2006-2016, conducting research on the impacts of wildland fire, woody plant encroachment, invasive weeds, and land management practices on vegetation, soils, and hydrologic and erosion processes for rangelands and dry forests. I continued this work as a Research Hydrologist at the Southwest Watershed Research Center in Tucson, AZ, from 2016 to 2024 and returned to the Northwest Watershed Research Center in Boise, ID, as Research Leader and Supervisory Research Hydrologist in 2024.

  • No publications listed for this employee.