Allen's areas of responsibility include research in forest ecology, ecosystem classification and interpretation, ecosystem function and response to management, and ecosystem mapping.  His current interests are the ecology and management of northern coastal and interior forests, wetland and riparian ecosystems, and ecosystem - site productivity relationships.  He is actively involved in studying the impact of natural and man-caused disturbances on the forest ecosystem and its ability and the time required to recover.

Karen is active in providing extension on ecology related topics to elementary school students. She is currently developing educational kits on ethnobotany and on seeds and dispersal mechanisms. Other responsibilities include maintaining the regional herbarium, and providing technical assistance on the majority of ecology projects. This includes collection and compilation of field data, report editing, graphics production, and maintaining databases within the ecology program.