Tracy Benning is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at the University of San Francisco. She received a B.A. and M.A from UNO, and a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in Environmental Population and Organismic Biology. Her research interests include landscape ecology, urban ecology, and resource conservation and management. She employs remote sensing and GIS technologies to address environmental issues. Benning has studied western forest fires in the U.S., agricultural development in the Yaqui valley of Mexico, and vegetation near lava flows on Mauna Loa volcano in Hawaii. She is currently studying riparian ecosystems in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. The wildlife refuge has become her laboratory for examining how natural processes such as fires and floods help replenish the area. Satellite photos assist in the process. Her study has ramifications for resource management of savanna ecosystems around the world.