William J. Ripple was born on March 10, 1952 in Lesterville, South Dakota. He received his undergraduate degree in science at South Dakota State University in 1974. He then went on to attend the College of Mines and Earth Resources in 1978 at the University of Idaho to earn a Master’s degree of Science. After this, he attended Oregon State University (OSU) and received a Ph.D. in Geography in 1984 and became a faculty member in the OSU College of Forestry, Department of Forestry Ecosystems and Society as a professor in Ecology. Ripple began his career conducting research on old-growth forests and spotted owls. His research evolved to look at the impact of predators on ecosystem structure. His research has led to a new field called “trophic cascades,” which are indirect interactions that can control entire ecosystems. This is seen when predators in a food web alter the behavior of their prey, which in turn lowers the predation on the next trophic level.
Professor Ripple is a distinguished professor who was the director of the Environmental Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory (ERSAL) and current director of the Trophic Cascades Program. He teaches courses on Forestry Ecosystems and Society. His prominent research and work in the field of ecology has led him to consult with groups that include the National Academy of Sciences, the White House, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He has now published over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles, most of which pertain to his work with trophic cascades. He has received multiple awards for his work, including a Distinguished Professor Award in 2014 and a Spirit of Defenders Award for Science in 2009.
Ripple donated the materials to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center in 2015.
Collection is open for research.
William J. Ripple Papers (MSS Ripple), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Materials related to this collection may be found in the
The William J. Ripple Collection is arranged into 10 series: 1. Early Coursework and Research Papers, 1976-1983; 2. Publications and Manuscripts, 1984-2013; 3. Research Projects and Proposals, 1973-2004; 4. Press Releases, Articles, and Newspaper Clippings, 1972-2014; 5. Reference Material, 1927-2010; 6. Committees and Associations, 1985-1994; 7. Course Material, 1985-2008; 8. Website design, 2001; 9. Posters, 2014; and 10. Tree Cores, 2000-2010.
The William J. Ripple collection consists mainly of his publications, including his thesis and papers from his early coursework. The majority of publications cover the field of trophic cascades and remote sensing systems. Both the final publications as well as manuscripts are included. In addition to his many publications, this collection contains reference materials used when conducting research and writing. The reference materials cover landscape ecology, the spotted owl, and geographic information systems (GIS). Also included are newspaper clippings and articles that discuss Ripple's work, particularly on trophic cascades and the impacts of predation. Also included are posters featuring Ripple and classroom materials.
More than half of the boxes in this collection contain tree cores taken during his research of the relationship among wolves, elk and aspen. This series includes tree cores from Yellowstone, Yosemite, Jasper and the Great Plains.
Another noteworthy part of this collection are the research project materials and proposals. These bring to light other research interests of Ripple, that include the Oregon Mosaic project, research into the ozone’s effect on conifers and his work with Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) in New Zealand.
Series 1 consists of Ripple’s papers written during his time in the master’s program at University of Idaho, as well as papers he wrote and exams that were taken while attending the Ph.D. program at Oregon State.
Series 2 consists of Ripple’s publications, as well as drafts for many of these publications. The publications in this series are collaborative texts, as well as some written solely by Ripple. The majority of his publications are about his extensive work on trophic cascades, which are indirect interactions that can control entire ecosystems. This is seen when predators in a food web alter the behavior of their prey, which in turn lowers the predation on the next trophic level. These publications includes ERSAL's
Includes Monitoring Annual Ryegrass with the Landsat Thematic Mapper Bands, Landsat Thematic Mapper Band Transformations for Characterizing Grass Vegetation, Spectral Reflectance Patterns of Some Key Cascade West Slope Vegetation Types, and Spectral Reflectance Relationships to Leaf Water Stress.
Contains the draft for Monitoring Annual Ryegrass with the Landsat Thematic Mapper Bands
Includes Assessing Elk Trail and Wallow Impacts in Mount Rainier National Park, and Classification of Digital Landsat Data for Wildlife Management Applications of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation of Oregon.
Contains the draft for Classification of Digital Landsat Data for Wildlife Management Applications on the Warm Springs Indian Reservations of Oregon.
Includes The Influence of Soil Organic Matter Content and Soil Particle Size of Spectral Reflectance, and Assessing Elk Trail and Wallow Impacts in Mount Rainier National Park.
Contains the draft for Assessing Elk Trail and Wallow Impacts in Mount Rainier National Park.
Includes Assessing Elk Trail and Wallow Impacts in Mount Rainier National Park, a Quarterly Progress Report.
Contains the draft for Assessing Elk Trail and Wallow Impacts in Mount Rainier National Park
Includes Measuring Forest Fragmentation in the Cascade Range of Oregon and two issues of Geographic Information Analysis: An Ecological Approach for the Management of Wildlife on the Forested Landscape.
Contains the drafts for Measuring Forest Fragmentation in the Cascade Range of Oregon and Geographic Information analysis: An Ecological Approach for the Management of Wildlife on the Forested Landscape.
Includes two publications of Geographic Information Analysis: An Ecological Approach for the Management of Wildlife
Includes An Introduction to Digital Methods in Remote Sensing Forested Ecosystems: Focus in the Pacific Northwest, USA, and Remote Sensing of Aspen Change in Northern Yellowstone National Park.
Includes Human Influence on Wildlife Abundance and Distribution Along Lewis and Clark Trail.
Series 3 consists of Ripple’s research projects and proposals. All of these research projects were conducted during his time with the Environmental Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory (ERSAL) including his work on the Oregon Mosaic. Items include spotted owl data/research, aspen regeneration research, Oregon Mosaic prints and negatives, as well as special use permits.
Series 4 consists of press releases and articles that were written about Ripple and his research with ERSAL. This includes school magazine publications, multiple articles about “Wolves, Elk and Aspen in Yellowstone”, as well as various newspaper clippings that cover these topics, along with others. Notably, this series also contains articles about the awards that Ripple has received for his work.
Some newspaper clippings are undated.
Series 5 consists of the reference materials that Ripple used while conducting research. A majority of the materials in this series are reference materials on landscape ecology and the trophic cascades. The landscape ecology material spans from 1927 to 2010. This series is also made up of reference materials for quadtree and GIS, as well as his work in New Zealand.
Series 6 consists of meeting handouts and minutes from Ripple’s participation in committees and associations. This includes multiple meeting records for the Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, as well as The Wildlife Society and notes from Joint Government Affairs, a national committee that worked with the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping, as well as the House Committee of Energy and Commerce.
Series 7 consists of course material for the classes that Ripple taught at Oregon State, as well as a collection of student papers. It contains course material, including a term reading packet, for FOR 599, Aldo Leopold and Ecosystem Management. The student papers include multiple research papers, a thesis, and a dissertation proposal.
Ripple's dossier for a promotion is included in this folder.
Series 8 consists of the early stages of the designs for the website Wolves in Nature. It includes changes to the original website design, as well as printouts of images that could be found on the website to inform viewers about aspen recruitment in Yellowstone.
Series 9 consists of three posters featuring Ripple. There are two copies of a poster announcing an event that was held when Ripple received the Distinguished Professor Award from Oregon State University. The other shows Ripple looking through binoculars and is titled “We’re Seeing How Predators Balance Nature.”
Series 10 consists of tree cores collected for research projects in various geographic locations. Included with these cores are the publications of the research findings based on said cores.
Box also contains the publication pertaining to this collecion of tree cores (Mexican Wolves, Elk, and Aspen in Arizona: Is There a Trophic Cascade?), 2010
Box also contains the publication pertaining to this collection of tree cores (Wolves, Trophic Cascades, and Rivers in the Olympic National Park, USA), 2008
Box also contains a photo and publication pertaining to this collection of tree cores (Trophic Cascades Involving Cougar, Mule Deer, and Black Oaks in Yosemite National Park), 2008
Box also contains contains printouts of images and the publication pertaining to this collection of tree cores (Linking a Cougar Decline, Trophic Cascade, and Catastrophic Regime Shift in Zion National Park), 2006
Box also contains the publication pertaining to this collection of tree cores (Hardwood Tree Decline Following Large Carnivore Loss on the Great Plains, USA), 2007
Box also contains the publication pertaining to this collection of tree cores (Wolves, Elk, and Aspen in the Winter Range of Jasper National Park, Canada), 2007
Box also contains the publication pertaining to this collection of tree cores (Historic Aspen Recruitment, Elk, and Wolves in Northern Yellowstone National Park, USA), 2000