Winkler compared tracts of restored grasslands to undisturbed ones at three sites in eastern South Dakota--Sioux Prairie in Minnehaha County, Oak Lake Field Station in Brookings County, and Spirit Mound in Clay County. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the restored areas, while the undisturbed area at Sioux Prairie is managed by the Nature Conservancy, Oak Lake by SDSU and Spirit Mound by the S.D. Game, Fish and Parks Department.
Originally from Des Moines, Iowa, she began working with ants as an undergraduate at Iowa State University focusing on how burning and grazing affect species diversity. Her SDSU graduate research assistantship on ant biodiversity and natural history was funded through the Meierhenry Fellowship. Her research adviser was entomologist Paul J. Johnson, professor of plant science.