At the Second State-and-Transition Simulation Modelling (STSM) Conference in Ft. Collins, CO, Jim Smith, TNC's LANDFIRE Project Lead, was honored for leadership and collaborative efforts to develop and distribute STSM software tools. The conference, sponsored by the US Geological Survey, The Nature Conservancy and Apex Resource Management Solutions, was held in September 2014.
Following in the footsteps of the inaugural 2011 STSM conference, organizers brought together users of landscape STSM tools - including ST-Sim and its predecessors (VDDT, TELSA and Path Landscape Model) - to provide opportunities for sharing experiences with different applications of the STSM approach..
Jim and TNC Director of Science in Nevada, Louis Provencher, were recognized for their pioneering contributions to state-and-transition simulation modeling. Jim and the Conservancy’s LANDFIRE team have overseen the development of over 1000 STSM models covering the entire U.S. Organizers applauded his “tireless support of the development of STSM software tools and improvements to the Vegetation Dynamics Development Tool (VDDT) software.” More recently Jim was instrumental in coordinating multi-agency support for the first version of ST-Sim.
Colin Daniel, principal at ApexRMS, noted that “Jim has always been the one to selflessly consider the needs of all of our users. For example he’s the one person continually advocating for us to make sure we actually document our software. Jim has always, in my mind, been the consummate team player, always reaching out and trying to foster new relationships and partnerships, many of which live on today. Jim embodies the spirit of collaborative science that has been so important in the development and dissemination of STSM software tools, and a major reason those tools are what they are today.
The U.S. Department of Interior posted information about the multiple DOI Climate Science Centers (CSCs) who participated in the conference, as did the US Geological Survey.