I’m a transdisciplinary social science researcher in natural resources, with expertise in forestry, including urban and community forestry. My research emphasizes collaboration among a variety of partners to achieve on-the-ground land management and conservation outcomes. Currently, I am a PhD candidate in the People, Institutions, and Ecosystems (PIE) Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where I primarily work on a USDA-funded grant to serve small and medium-sized woodland and farm owners. I am also part of a UW Consortium grant on urban tree canopy and equity in underserved communities.

My current research incorporates ecological and sustainability principles alongside behavioral and social psychology theories to understand private landowner decision-making. I use both quantitative and qualitative methods, including regression analysis, spatial analysis, semi-structured interviews, and qualitative coding, to carry out this work. Through my dissertation, I consider a few different approaches to understanding private lands and landowners.

(1) I examine private land transfer and parcelization, combining landscape and landowner characteristics to understand which parcels are more likely to transfer and subdivide.

(2) I apply the life cycle perspective to analyze how landowners’ life trajectories and transitions impact the acquisition, disposal, and management of private lands.

(3) I have recently begun employing communication theory and social marketing techniques to test the efficacy of framing in social media advertisements that direct users to a university extension webpage developed by our research team, Getting Started with Stewardship.

My professional goals are driven by the desire to support and serve the natural resources sectors, as well as the individuals and communities to which they are tied. In addition to the webpage, I have worked extensively with university extension to address outreach and engagement needs, including a yearly webinar series for landowners interested in learning about the multitude of resources available for land management and conservation work on private land. Our project team interacts regularly with an advisory board of 20+ members, who span multiple levels of government, nonprofit organizations, private consulting, and individual landowners.

I am also a member of the Dane County Tree Board and the county’s Tree Canopy Collaborative.

I have an M.S. in Environmental Conservation, with a focus in Forest Resources and Arboriculture, and a B.S. in Natural Resources Conservation, with a focus in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

PUBLICATIONS
Peer-reviewed articles
Bocsi, T., R. W. Harper, P. S. Warren, and S. DeStefano. 2021. Exploring the Ecology of Establishing Oak Trees in Urban Settings of the Northeast. Cities and the Environment 14:1.
Bocsi, T., R.W. Harper, S. DeStefano, and D. A. Lass. 2021. Historical and cultural perspectives of oak trees in the American landscape. Arboricultural Journal 43(3):171–179.
Bocsi, T., P. S. Warren, R. W. Harper, and S. DeStefano. 2018. Wildlife habitat management on college and university campuses. Cities and the Environment 11:1.
Bocsi, T., J. Allen, J. Bellemare, J. Kartesz, M. Nishino, and B. Bradley. 2016. Plant’s native distributions do not reflect climatic tolerance. Diversity and Distributions 22(6):615–624.

In review
Bocsi, T., and A. R. Rissman. Landowner residency, gender, and landscape features are associated with rural land transfer and parcelization. In review. Landscape and Urban Planning.
Larsen, L., A. Johnson, T. Bocsi, D. Mayerfeld, O. Kovacs, M. Olson, and A. R. Rissman. Lessons from a landowner conservation connection initiative. In revision. Journal of Extension.

Practitioner journal articles
Bocsi, T., and R. W. Harper. 2019. The perks and price of planting street trees. The Citizen Forester 222:1–2.

PRESENTATIONS
Bocsi, T., and A. R. Rissman. Shifting lands and changing hands: Understanding factors associated with private forestland transfer and parcelization. Society of American Foresters, September 2024. Loveland, CO. (talk by T. Bocsi)
Bocsi, T., R. Hellenbrand, C. DeMets, D. Mayerfeld, T. Johnson, and A.R. Rissman. Rural landowner stewardship decisions and perspectives in the context of their life courses and life transitions. Rural Sociological Society, July 2024. Madison, WI. (talk by T. Bocsi)
Johnson, T., T. Bocsi, A. R. Rissman, D. Mayerfeld, and L. Larsen. Connecting new landowners: Lessons from a conservation networking initiative. University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension All Colleague Conference, November 2023. Madison, WI.
Bocsi, T., and A. R. Rissman. Utilizing land transfer data for private landowner outreach by land cover, parcel size, and landowner gender. International Association for Society and Natural Resources, June 2023. Portland, ME. (talk by T. Bocsi)
Bocsi, T., R. Hellenbrand, C. DeMets, D. Mayerfeld, T. Johnson, and A. R. Rissman. Landowner needs and transitions: Exploring effects of the types and timing of new landowner
outreach. International Association for Society and Natural Resources, October 2022. Virtual (talk by T. Bocsi)
Bocsi, T., and A. R. Rissman. Private land transfer trends: Implications for new landowner outreach in an integrated landscape. Society of American Foresters, September 2022. Baltimore, MD. (talk by T. Bocsi)
Bocsi, T., and A. R. Rissman. Private land transfer trends: Implications for new landowner outreach in areas of high conservation priority. North American Congress for Conservation Biology, July 2022. Virtual (talk by T. Bocsi)
Bocsi, T., and A. R. Rissman. “Identifying new landowners and patterns of land transfer to improve landowner outreach.” International Association for Society and Natural Resources Conference, June 2021. Virtual (talk by T. Bocsi)
Rissman, A. R., Bocsi, T., and Weidenkopf, S. “Conservation and succession success: New landowner project.” Wisconsin Young Forest Partnership Annual meeting, December 2020. Virtual
Bocsi, T., R. H. Harper, D. A. Lass, and S. DeStefano. “Species and nursery production method affect street tree growth and economic return.” Society of American Foresters National Convention, October 2020. Virtual (science flash by T. Bocsi)
Bocsi, T. “Attracting wildlife and obtaining benefits from urban trees.” Urban Forestry Today, June 2019. Virtual (webcast by T. Bocsi)
Bocsi, T., and R. W. Harper. “A breakeven point: The costs and benefits of planting street trees.” Environmental Conservation Graduate Student Symposium, January 2018. Amherst, MA. (lightning talk by T. Bocsi)
Huynh, M., B. Kane, T. Bocsi, B. Bradley. “How diverse are urban trees on the UMass campus? Creating a database of street tree traits to increase diversity and reduce invasions.” Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE) Undergraduate Summer Scholars Program Poster Session, September 2017. Amherst, MA. (poster presentation by M. Huynh)
Bocsi, T., P. S. Warren, R. W. Harper, and S. DeStefano. “Wildlife habitat management on college and university campuses.” Massachusetts Sustainable Communities & Campuses Conference, April 2016. Amherst, MA. (talk by T. Bocsi)
Bocsi, T., J. Allen, J. Bellemare, J. Kartesz, M. Nishino, and B. Bradley. “Species distributions do not reflect climatic tolerance.” Ecological Society of America, August 2015. Baltimore, MD. (talk by B. Bradley)
Bocsi, T., J. Allen, J. Bellemare, J. Kartesz, M. Nishino, and B. Bradley. “Species distributions do not reflect climatic tolerance.” Northeast Arc Users Group Conference, May 2015. Amherst, MA. (poster presentation by T. Bocsi)
Bocsi, T., J. Bellemare, and B. Bradley, “Do naturalizations of endemic plant species indicate broader climatic tolerance than what is expected by their native ranges?” Northeast Arc Users Group Conference, May 2014. Amherst, MA. (poster presentation by T. Bocsi)