Assistant Research Scientist, Geospatial Data Scientist
Eric is a Geospatial Data Scientist who applies Earth observations, climate, and other geospatial datasets in applied research and decision support for conservation and resource management. At the Desert Research Institute, he is part of a team that has developed theClimateEngine.org App and API, which makes cloud computingof spatiotemporal Earth observations datasetsmore accessible to researchers, resource managers, and policymakers. Eric is also the project lead for DRI’s partnership with the Bureau of Land Management’s HQ and National Operations Center officesthrough which DRIhas developed a national-scale reporting system for BLM at reports.climateengine.org.
He holds a M.S. in Ecology from Colorado State University and a B.A. in Geography from Western Washington University, in both programs focusing on remote sensing, spatial analysis, and environmental modeling. Eric is also a Google Developer Expert for Google Earth Engine, a volunteer capacity-building program thatsupports the Earth Engine user community.
Keywords
Remote sensing, landscape ecology, spatial ecology, rangeland ecology, web tools, decision support, Google Earth Engine, R, Python
Program(s)
Publications
2025
Allred, B.,
McCord, S.,
Assal, T.,
Bestelmeyer, B.,
Boyd, C.,
Brooks, A. C.,
Cady, S.,
Duniway, M.,
Fuhlendorf, S.,
Green, S.,
Harrison, G.,
Jensen, E.,
Kachergis, E.,
Knight, A.,
Mattilio, C.,
Mealor, B.,
Naugle, D.,
O’Leary, D.,
Olsoy, P.,
Peirce, E.,
Reinhardt, J.,
Shriver, R.,
Smith, J.,
Tack, J.,
Tanner, A.,
Tanner, E.,
Twidwell, D.,
Webb, N., &
Morford, S. (2025).
Sentinel-2 based estimates of rangeland fractional cover and canopy gap class for the western United States.
Scientific Data, 12(1), 1889.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-06160-9
2024
Pearson, C.,
Minor, B. A.,
Morton, C. G.,
Volk, J. M.,
Dunkerly, C. W.,
Jensen, E.,
ReVelle, P.,
Kilic, A.,
Allen, R., &
Huntington, J. L. (2024).
Historical Evapotranspiration and Consumptive Use of Irrigated Areas of the Upper Colorado River Basin. Desert Research Institute: Las Vegas, NV, DRI Report No. 41304.
http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.31069.63206
2023
Morford, S. L.,
Allred, B. W.,
Jensen, E.,
Maestas, J. D.,
Mueller, K. R.,
Pacholski, C. L.,
Smith, J. T.,
Tack, J. D.,
Tackett, K. N., &
Naugle, D. E. (2023).
Mapping Tree Cover Expansion in Montana, U.S.A. Rangelands Using High-Resolution Historical Aerial Imagery.
Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation. ZSL, July 19, 2023-July 19, 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1002/rse2.357
Conference Proceedings
Albano, C. M., McCarthy, M. I., Webb, M. J., Jensen, E., McAfee, S., & Swain, D. (2023). ARkStorm 2.0 Impacts: Engaging diverse communities to improve resilience to extreme storms in Nevada and California. American Geophysical Union: San Francisco, CA, December 11, 2023-December 17, 2023
Other
2025
