Julie Suhr Pierce, Ph.D., has been the National Economist on the Ecological Sciences Division staff within the Science and Technology Deputy Area at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service in Washington, DC, since June of 2021. She is heavily involved in climate change work at NRCS including contributing to implementation of the agency’s Climate Adaptation Action Plan and serving as the NRCS Co-lead for the USDA Southern Plains Climate Hub. Prior to accepting her current Ecological Sciences appointment, Dr. Suhr Pierce served from 2012 to 2021 as the Great Basin Socioeconomic Specialist for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management where she was responsible for economic analysis, the social sciences, and environmental justice for the BLM in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada as well as doing national level work as an economist and social scientist. Prior to that appointment, Dr. Suhr Pierce was a state economist for NRCS for nine years. In addition, she taught economics at multiple universities and colleges, including 21 years at the University of Utah.
Julie grew up with farmers and livestock operators on both sides of her family, including farmers, ranchers, and an International Harvester dealer within her family. Her husband’s grandfather ran a 50-plus-year certified black angus herd in western Nebraska. Members of her family continue to farm and ranch in Nebraska and in the West. Prior to commencing her federal career, Julie served as an associate supervisor on the Salt Lake Conservation District board. Julie completed range management school through SRM and has specialized in grazing economics and sustainable agriculture throughout her federal career. She is qualified to work for the federal government as a soil conservationist and has studied horticulture, permaculture, organic agriculture, and soil science, among other physical sciences. Her primary areas of interest are climate change, sustainable food production, environmental justice, water resources, the economics of natural resource conservation, public and environmental economics, cognitive and behavioral economics, and applied decision theory. Julie’s hobbies include the sport of ultrarunning, cello performance, gourmet cooking, and studying foreign languages.
