J.D. Wulfhorst

Biography

J.D. is returning to the eastern U.S. to join the faculty at Miami after several decades in the western states of Utah, Colorado, and Idaho. With a background in rural sociology, his teaching and research interests concentrate on human dimensions of the environment, especially rangelands and other agroecosystems. His recently completed projects focus on sustainability concerns within beef production in the food system. He brings a history of interdisciplinary collaboration to serve as Director of the Institute for Environment & Sustainability and Professor in the Department of Geography.

Education

• B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies, Appalachian State University, 1990
  
• M.A., Sociology, University of Kentucky, 1992
  
• Ph.D., Rural & Community Sociology, Utah State University, 1997

Research Interests

Social adaptation in agroecosystems
Rural community challenges in beef production sustainability
Community impacts from waste facility siting

 Current research projects:
1) Baseline data collection initiative launch for the Human Dimensions Working Group within the USDA-based Long-term Agroecosystems Research (LTAR) Network (a network of 19 agroecosystem sites across the U.S. coordinating a series of long-term experiments on sustainable intensification in the food system)
2) Adaptation and social response impacts of annual invasive grasses within the Great Basin (a site-based effort within LTAR concentrating primarily on rural ranchers operating on arid public lands and the de facto managers of an increasing level of invasives -- like cheatgrass, ventenata, and medusahead -- encroaching on Great Basin rangelands)

Courses Taught

• Introduction to Environmental Science
• Law, Ethics, & the Environment
• Environmental Equity & Justice
• Humans & Natural Resources
• Food System & Landscape Security

Selected Publications

• Fancher, H.R., A. Nagler, J. Ritten, and J.D. Wulfhorst. 2025. Labor Challenges in the U.S. Beef Industry Magnify Challenges with Succession in Rangeland Systems. Western Economics Forum 23(1):56-68.
• Fancher, H.R., A. Nagler, J.D. Wulfhorst, and J.Ritten. 2025. Implications for Land Use and Rangelands across US Beef Cattle Inventory Trends. Rangeland Ecology & Management (in press) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2025.01.007
• Gomes Moojen, F., J. Ryschawy, J. Hendrickson, D. Archer, P. César de Faccio Carvalho, and J.D. Wulfhorst. 2024. Case-study analysis of innovative producers toward sustainable integrated crop-livestock systems: trajectory, achievements, and thought process. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 44:26 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-024-00953-9.
• Wulfhorst, J.D., J.E. Bruno, D. Toledo, H. Wilmer, D.W. Archer, D. Peck, and D. Huggins. 2022. Infusing ‘long-term’ into social science rangelands research. Rangelands 44(5):299-305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rala.2022.06.001
• Bentley Brymer, A., D. Toledo, S. Spiegal, F. Pierson, P.E. Clark, and J.D. Wulfhorst. 2020. Social-Ecological Processes and Impacts Affect Individual and Social Well-Being in a Rural Western U.S. Landscape. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 4(38):1-16. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2020.00038.
• O’Rourke, M., S. Crowley, S.D. Eigenbrode, and J.D. Wulfhorst (eds.) 2014. Enhancing Communication and Collaboration in Interdisciplinary Research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Wulfhorst, J.D., N. Rimbey, and T. Darden. 2006. Sharing the Rangelands — Competing for Sense of Place. American Behavioral Scientist. 50(2):166-186.
• Wulfhorst, J.D. 2000. “Collective Identity and Hazardous Waste Management.” Rural Sociology 65(2):275-94.