Jessie Golding, PhD
Photo by Sierra Cistone
Ph.D. Wildlife Biology at University of Montana, 2022
M.S. Wildlife Biology, University of Montana, 2015
B.S. Integrative Biology and Environmental Science, University of California, Berkeley, 2007
Contact: [email protected]
Google scholar
Github
Research
At heart, my work is driven by a simple passion: finding ways for people and nature to thrive together in a changing world. Rather than treating conservation as a purely technical problem, I bridge conservation biology with human-centered fields, including design and social science, to solve real-world challenges alongside land managers and local communities. Whether that means tracking Canada lynx in the northern Rockies using non-invasive eDNA from snow tracks, understanding how urban features in Tucson shape human-wildlife interactions, or developing integrative, co-produced science to understand California least tern population dynamics and conservation, I focus on solutions that work for both ecosystems and the human lives intertwined with them. By blending rigorous research with collaborative design thinking, I strive to create actionable, compassionate conservation science that bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and everyday action.
Selected Publications
Golding, J.D., McKelvey, K.S., Schwartz, M.K., Millspaugh, J.J., Sanderlin, J.S., and S.D. Jackson. 2025. Goal efficient monitoring: an approach to monitoring as information needs change. Ecological Modelling. 508, 111196.
Golding, J.D., Specht, H.M.R., and J.J. Millspaugh. 2024. Ten lessons for rare wildlife species conservation when coming from a common species background. Conservation Science and Practice 6: e13182.
Golding, J.D., and H. Chmura. 2024. Lessons for conservation from the mistakes of the COVID‐19 pandemic: The promise and peril of big data and new communication modalities. Conservation Science and Practice 6: e13090.
Golding, J.D. and S. Ishizaki. 2023. Building robust long-term conservation monitoring with design thinking. In 2023 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm) (pp. 209-213).
Specht, H., Golding, J.D., Pero, E.M., Crane, M.T., Ortiz-Calo, W., McDevitt, M.C., Karlen, J.G., Branch, J.V.; Hansen, C.P., Millspaugh, J. J. 2022. A framework for evaluating the implications of assumptions in conservation practice. Conservation Science and Practice 4: e12758.
Franklin, T.W., McKelvey, K.S., Golding, J.D., Mason, D.H., Dysthe, J.C., Pilgrim, K.L., Squires, J.R., Aubry, K.B., Long, R.A., Greaves, S.E., Raley, C.M., Jackson, S.D., MacKay, P., Lisbon, J., Sauder, J.D., Pruss, M.T., Heffington, D., and M.K. Schwartz. 2019. Environmental DNA methodologies may revolutionize winter sampling for carnivores: DNA from snow and improved non-invasive techniques. Biological Conservation 229: 50–58.
Golding, J.D., Nowak, J.J., and V.J. Dreitz. 2017. A multispecies dependent double-observer model: a new method for estimating multispecies abundance. Ecology and Evolution 7: 3425–3435.
M.S. Wildlife Biology, University of Montana, 2015
B.S. Integrative Biology and Environmental Science, University of California, Berkeley, 2007
Contact: [email protected]
Google scholar
Github
Research
At heart, my work is driven by a simple passion: finding ways for people and nature to thrive together in a changing world. Rather than treating conservation as a purely technical problem, I bridge conservation biology with human-centered fields, including design and social science, to solve real-world challenges alongside land managers and local communities. Whether that means tracking Canada lynx in the northern Rockies using non-invasive eDNA from snow tracks, understanding how urban features in Tucson shape human-wildlife interactions, or developing integrative, co-produced science to understand California least tern population dynamics and conservation, I focus on solutions that work for both ecosystems and the human lives intertwined with them. By blending rigorous research with collaborative design thinking, I strive to create actionable, compassionate conservation science that bridges the gap between scientific knowledge and everyday action.
Selected Publications
Golding, J.D., McKelvey, K.S., Schwartz, M.K., Millspaugh, J.J., Sanderlin, J.S., and S.D. Jackson. 2025. Goal efficient monitoring: an approach to monitoring as information needs change. Ecological Modelling. 508, 111196.
Golding, J.D., Specht, H.M.R., and J.J. Millspaugh. 2024. Ten lessons for rare wildlife species conservation when coming from a common species background. Conservation Science and Practice 6: e13182.
Golding, J.D., and H. Chmura. 2024. Lessons for conservation from the mistakes of the COVID‐19 pandemic: The promise and peril of big data and new communication modalities. Conservation Science and Practice 6: e13090.
Golding, J.D. and S. Ishizaki. 2023. Building robust long-term conservation monitoring with design thinking. In 2023 IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm) (pp. 209-213).
Specht, H., Golding, J.D., Pero, E.M., Crane, M.T., Ortiz-Calo, W., McDevitt, M.C., Karlen, J.G., Branch, J.V.; Hansen, C.P., Millspaugh, J. J. 2022. A framework for evaluating the implications of assumptions in conservation practice. Conservation Science and Practice 4: e12758.
Franklin, T.W., McKelvey, K.S., Golding, J.D., Mason, D.H., Dysthe, J.C., Pilgrim, K.L., Squires, J.R., Aubry, K.B., Long, R.A., Greaves, S.E., Raley, C.M., Jackson, S.D., MacKay, P., Lisbon, J., Sauder, J.D., Pruss, M.T., Heffington, D., and M.K. Schwartz. 2019. Environmental DNA methodologies may revolutionize winter sampling for carnivores: DNA from snow and improved non-invasive techniques. Biological Conservation 229: 50–58.
Golding, J.D., Nowak, J.J., and V.J. Dreitz. 2017. A multispecies dependent double-observer model: a new method for estimating multispecies abundance. Ecology and Evolution 7: 3425–3435.
