Faculty Member since 2005

Flint CV

How I got interested in this area
From childhood, I have always had a combined love of discovering "characters" and unique natural places. My academic path has woven through geography, earth science, and rural sociology with a concerted effort to examine the interconnections between people and the environment.

Research interests
My research focuses on community response to environmental disturbance or change and my work falls within the areas of natural resource & environmental sociology, rural sociology, and natural resource management. This work takes a variety of forms. Since 2002, I have been studying the community and temporal dynamics of human dimensions of forest disturbances by bark beetles in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula and north central Colorado. This research evaluates the relationship between risk perception, forest management attitudes and local action to mitigate forest disturbance impacts and risks. I am also involved in an interdisciplinary study of the impacts of climate and environmental change on subsistence berry resources in tribal communities in Alaska. This EPA funded project engages youth and other community members as co-researchers to bridge traditional knowledge with scientific assessments of the health properties of wild berries. Closer to home, my involvement in a regional assessment of Southern Illinois from 2006-2008 has led to continued research on 1) the management objectives and attitudes of forest landowners; 2) hazard and disaster experiences from agricultural perspectives; 3) risk perspectives and local knowledge of watershed partnership members; and 4) the role of the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center in the Southern Illinois region.  All of my research and community engagement work uses a mixed methods approach which includes qualitative interviews, quantitative analysis of survey data, and integrated analysis of primary and secondary data. The best part of my job is getting out to learn from real people in real places about critical issues in their environment and communities in the hopes of bringing these perspectives to the resource management and decision making table.

Courtney G. Flint