He received a Ph.D. from Indiana University. Over the years, his scholarship and publications have addressed many places and cases. He has brought an interdisciplinary outlook to research topics ranging from river management to beekeeping. His papers have been delivered at national and international conferences, and his publications have appeared in national and international books and journals. He is editor of Conservation on the Northern Plains: New Perspectives (2017) and co-editor of the acclaimed book Draining the Great Oasis: Environmental History of Murray County, Minnesota (2001).