Forestcast

When Harry Gisborne, the Forest Service's first fire scientist, died investigating the Mann Gulch Fire in 1949, he became known as its '14th victim.' Through personal stories and historical accounts, we explore how the tragic fire that killed 13 firefighters led to the creation of the Missoula Fire Sciences Lab and revolutionized wildland fire research. Current and former lab leaders, Sara Brown and Colin Hardy, share how Mann Gulch's legacy continues to shape firefighter safety and fire science today. Related Research: Missoula Fire Lab Partners with Google Research to Help Advance New Fire Spread Model (2024) The Rothermel Fire Spread Model: A 50-Year Milestone in Fire Research (2023) Understanding Wildfire as a Dynamic System: A New Comprehensive Book on Wildland Fire Behavior (2023) Research Needs for Wildland Firefighter Entrapments (2020) Bridging the Divide Between Fire Safety Research and Fighting Fire Safely (2017) From Research to Policy: The White Cap Wilderness Fire Study (2014) The Missoula Fire Sciences Lab: A 50-Year Dedication to Understanding Wildlands and Fire (2012) Mann Gulch Fire: A Race That Couldn't Be Won (1993) The Gisborne Era of Forest Fire Research (1977) Harry Thomas Gisborne Oral History Project (1976) A Mathematical Model for Predicting Fire Spread in Wildland Fuels (1972) The Seeding of Cumulus Clouds by Ground-Based Silver Iodide Generators (1959) Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov

How does research shape a Chief's decisions about fire? Through personal stories and reflections, Chief Randy Moore shares how scientific discoveries have transformed our agency's understanding of fire, and explains how research informs decision-making at the highest levels, the role of partnerships in advancing fire science, and the future of fire management across our landscapes. Related Research: Confronting the Wildfire Crisis Fire and Smoke Model Evaluation Experiment Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Fire affects forests above and belowground. Travel along on a multiscale journey from forest-wide influences to molecular-level changes, unraveling the knowns and unknowns of fire effects on soil, vegetation, and carbon. Sharon Hood explains how fire affects tree mortality, tracing the pivotal role of carbohydrates in a tree's post-fire survival. Dexter Strother investigates the production and persistence of black carbon in soils, shedding light on its potential climate implications. Matt Dickinson shares innovative techniques for measuring belowground heat transfer during fires, and unveils the intricate effects on soil nutrients and microbial life. Related Research: Long-term Efficacy of Fuel Reduction and Restoration Treatments in Northern Rockies Dry Forests (2024) Nonstructural Carbohydrates Explain Post-fire Tree Mortality and Recovery Patterns (2024) How Effective are Landscape Scale Fuel Treatments? (2023) Understanding Post-fire Tree Mortality: Resources & Research Lubrecht Fire-Fire Surrogate Study Fire Exclusion Reduces A‐horizon Thickness in a Long‐term Prescribed Fire Experiment in Spodosols of Northern Florida, USA (2023) Canopy-derived Fuels Drive Patterns of In-fire Energy Release and Understory Plant Mortality in a Longleaf Pine Sandhill in Northwest Florida, USA (2016) Soil Heating in Fires: Process, Measurement, and Effects (2023) Soil Heating in Fire (SheFire): A Model and Measurement Method for Estimating Soil Heating and Effects During Wildland Fires (2022) Beyond "Fire Temperatures": Calibrating Thermocouple Probes and Modeling Their Response to Surface Fires in Hardwood Fuels (2008) Temperature-Dependent Rate Models of Vascular Cambium Cell Mortality (2004) Scientists: Sharon Hood, Research Ecologist, Missoula, Montana Dexter Strother, Research Ecologist, Athens, Georgia Matt Dickinson, Research Ecologist, Delaware, Ohio Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Prescribed fire plays a vital role in creating healthy landscapes that better survive natural and human-caused disturbances, while reducing wildfire risk to communities, infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources. Episode 3 of "Afire" highlights three scientists and partnerships that are attempting to better understand and utilize prescribed fire. From Georgia, ecologist Joe O'Brien explains how researchers and forest managers are forming unique meetings that spark fresh ideas and advancements in prescribed burning across the South. In California, forester David Weise begins research into the processes related to pyrolysis to better estimate how prescribed burning affects people. And, in Arkansas, forestry technician Virginia McDaniel recounts a decades-long story of prescribed fire fortifying an ecosystem and an endangered woodpecker. Related Research: Prescribed Fire Science: The Case for a Refined Research Agenda (2020) Comparing Two Methods to Measure Oxidative Pyrolysis Gases in a Wind Tunnel and in Prescribed Burns (2022) Comparison of Pyrolysis of Live Wildland Fuels Heated by Radiation vs. Convection (2020) A Project to Measure and Model Pyrolysis to Improve Prediction of Prescribed Fire Behavior (2018) Particulate & Trace Gas Emissions from Prescribed Burns in Southeastern U.S. (2015) Diversity Explodes with Another Boring Burn with USDA Forest Service's Virginia McDaniel (2023) Pine-Bluestem Literature Review (2013) Renewal of the Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Grass Ecosystem (2010) Scientists: Joe O'Brien, Research Ecologist, Southern Research Station, Athens, Georgia David Weise, Research Forester, Pacific Southwest Research Station, Riverside, California Virginia McDaniel, Forestry Technician, Southern Research Station, Hot Springs, Arkansas Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast Questions or ideas for the show? Contact Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Fire is a form all of its own, but a simple way to understand fire is as a swarm. A swarm of bees. Or starlings. Or mosquitos. A spreading fire is a swarm of ignitions, a series of small fires over and over. Season 4 of Forestcast is a series of fires, a series of voices. It's a 360-degree introduction to fire from a scientific standpoint. The story of how fire research shapes our landscapes, and our lives. Through kaleidoscoping voices from across the country, listeners will be taken inside the largest forest research organization in the world to hear from seventeen scientists on what they know, and don't know, about one of the most complex elements in nature—fire. In episode one, hear from research mechanical engineer, Sara McAllister, on the process of ignition; spatial fire analyst, Greg Dillon, on the timeline of fire management and research in the Forest Service; and research forester, Dan Dey, on the history of fire: where it was, where it's been, and what can be done knowing its history? Related Research: Understanding Wildfire as a Dynamic System: A New Comprehensive Book on Wildland Fire Behavior (2023) New In-flame Flammability Testing Method Applied to Monitor Seasonal Changes in Live Fuel(2023) The Wildfire Crisis Strategy: How it Started, How it's Going, and How RMRS Science Contributes (2023) Prescribed Fire for Upland Oaks (2023) Fire in Eastern Oak Forests—A Primer (2022) The North American Tree-Ring Fire-Scar Network (2022) Scientists: Sara McAllister, Research Mech. Engineer, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana Greg Dillon, Spatial Fire Analyst, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana Dan Dey, Research Forester, Northern Research Station, Columbia, Missouri Forestcast is an official USDA Forest Service podcast, and is produced by USDA Forest Service Research and Development. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/products/multimedia/forestcast Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at jonathan.yales@usda.gov This episode, we used the following archival recordings: The Fires of 1910 [National Wildfire Coordinating Group] Forest Service Officials Testify on Wildfire Management [C-SPAN] The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film [USDA Forest Service] 1950s Smokey the Bear P.S.A.s [USDA Forest Service] Suppression of Fires in Natl. Parks & Forests [C-SPAN] The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (1988-07-27) [AAPB] The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour (1988-09-13) [AAPB] Harry Gisborne Oral History Project [U of Montana] Up In Flames: A History of Fire Fighting in the Forest [Forest History Society] Higgins Ridge [Montana PBS] Learning from the Experts: Richard Rothermel [Wildland Fire LLC] U.S. House of Representatives House Session (2009-03-26) [C-SPAN] The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer (2000-08-07) [AAPB] Wildfire Crisis Strategy 2022 [USDA Forest Service] President Biden Signs Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill [C-SPAN]

Cindi West has over 30 years of experience working across private industry, academia, and federal government in a variety of jobs to ensure sustainability of natural resources. In February 2021 she assumed the position of Director of the Northern Research Station and the Forest Products Lab. She has served in various leadership roles in the Forest Service, including as the Director of the Office of Sustainability & Climate Change, Associate Deputy Chief for R&D, Director for Resource Use Sciences, and Deputy Station Director for Pacific Northwest Research Station. Cindi holds a BS degree in Forestry Management, an MBA in Marketing and Management, and a PhD in Wood Science and Forest Products from Virginia Tech. As a research scientist, she published more than 60 papers and presented at more than 80 conferences on forest sector trade and industry development. Scientist: Cindi West, Station Director, Northern Research Station, Madison, Wisconsin If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project. Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-10-our-sustainable Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Research soil scientist Deb Page-Dumroese's research interests center around maintaining soil productivity during and after land management activities. As site principal investigator for several North American Long-Term Soil Productivity Study plots, Deb is well-versed in the pre- and post-treatment sampling necessary to determine changes in above- and below-ground nutrient properties associated with harvesting, organic matter removal, and biochar additions. In partnership with the Missoula Technology Development Center (Keith Windell) and Dr. Nate Anderson (RMRS) she developed a biochar spreader to easily distribute biochar on forest sites. Related Research: Biochar Basics: An A-to-Z Guide to Biochar Production, Use, and Benefits (2022) Forest Management and Biochar for Continued Ecosystem Services (2022) Development and Use of a Commercial-Scale Biochar Spreader (2016) Forest Soil Disturbance Monitoring Protocol: Volume II: Supplementary Methods, Statistics, and Data Collection (2009) Soil Physical Property Changes at the North American Long-Term Soil Productivity Study Sites: 1 and 5 Years After Compaction (2006) Scientist: Deb Page-Dumroese, Research Soil Scientist, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Moscow, Idaho If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project. Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-8-changing-world Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Research social scientist, Lindsay Campbell, explores the dynamics of civic stewardship, environmental governance, and sustainability policymaking--with a particular emphasis on issues of social and environmental justice—all from New York City. She is a founding member of the New York City Urban Field Station, which was jointly created by the Northern Research Station and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The Urban Field Station develops and applies adaptive management and science to improve human well-being and the environment in urban metropolitan areas. She creates transdisciplinary spaces of collaboration between land managers, scientists, artists, and other practitioners. Related Research: Stewardship Mapping with National Forests to Support Equitable, Inclusive Partnerships (2022) Activating Urban Environments as Social Infrastructure Through Civic Stewardship (2021) Building Adaptive Capacity Through Civic Environmental Stewardship: Responding to COVID-19 Alongside Compounding and Concurrent Crises (2021) Forest Service Research Evaluates Public Response to Transformed Landfill (2016) Scientist: Lindsay Campbell, Research Social Scientist, Northern Research Station, New York, New York If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project. Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-6-nature-stewardship Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Ecologist Susannah Lerman walks us through her career and life, from falling in love with birds in Israel, to making something more of mowing, to hosting a motherhood workshop, to the mentors that enabled her to create a career out of science. Susannah's research goal is to improve the sustainability of urban and human-dominated landscapes for birds, bees and other wildlife, and advancing human well-being through strengthening connections between people and nearby nature. Related Research: Juggling Parenthood and Ornithology: A Full Lifecycle Approach to Supporting Mothers through the American Ornithological Society (2021) To Mow or to Mow Less: Lawn Mowing Frequency Affects Bee Abundance and Diversity in Suburban Yards (2018) Scientist: Susannah Lerman, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Amherst, Massachusetts If you're interested in hearing from more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project. Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-4-juggling-motherhood Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Ecologist Sara Brown takes us through eight chapters of her career and the 10 mentors that made her, from wildland firefighting, to smokejumping, to teaching in New Mexico, to directing the Missoula Fire Science Lab. Sara is a classically trained ecologist, with a focus on fire ecology. Before her return to the Forest Service in 2015, she was an Assistant Professor of Forestry at New Mexico Highlands University. She taught wildfire science and ecology courses, and enjoyed working on research problems in the field with students. Her applied research program provided graduate and undergraduate students with opportunities to work on questions relating to fire effects, fire intensity, fuel treatment effects and understanding fire history as it applies to reintroducing appropriate fire return intervals to a variety of ecosystems. Today, she is the Fire, Fuel & Smoke Program Manager at the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, Montana. Related Research: On the Need for Inclusivity and Diversity in the Wildland Fire Professions (2020) Diversity: Just Gender and Race... or a Diversity of Perspectives (2018) Bridging the Divide Between Fire Safety Research and Fighting Fire Safely (2017) Scientist: Sara Brown, Fire, Fuel & Smoke Program Manager, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, Montana If you're interested in hearing more women in the Forest Service, visit the National Forest Service Library and their HerStory oral history project. Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-3-women-research-episode-2-ode-mentors-sara Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Beech bark disease has been killing American beech trees in eastern North America since the late 1890s. In northern New England, New York, and the Maritimes where the disease is most severe, groups of disease resistant trees occasionally occur. Genetic studies reveal that trees in groups are families, and distribution patterns suggest that they were "planted" by blue jays. Related Research: American Beech Resistance to Cryptococcus fagisuga (1983) Forest Insect & Disease Leaflet 75 (1983) Dispersal of Beech Nuts by Blue Jays in Fragmented Landscapes (1985) Spatial and Temporal Development of Beech Bark Disease in the Northeastern United States (2005) Beech Bark Disease: The Oldest "New" Threat to American Beech in the United States (2010) The Emergence of Beech Leaf Disease in Ohio: Probing Plant Microbiome in Search of the Cause (2020) Beech Leaf Disease Symptoms Caused by Newly Recognized Nematode Subspecies Litylenchus crenatae mccannii (Anguinata) Described From Fagus grandifolia in North America (2020) Scientists: Jennifer Koch, Research Biologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio Laura Kenefic, Research Forester, Northern Research Station, Bradley, Maine Dave Houston, Principal Plant Pathologist (Retired), Northern Research Station, Hamden, Connecticut In this episode, we used the following recording from the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: ML526793201 (Kendrick DeBoer, Alberta, Canada) Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-2-backcross-episode-6-bonus-how-bird-influences Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Dutch elm disease (DED) is one of the most commonly known and destructive tree diseases in the world. The disease was first observed in Ohio in 1930, and by 1976, only 34 million of the estimated 77 million elms present in U.S. urban locations remained. Research on American elm from the 1970s to the present has focused in large part on the identification of American elm individuals that can withstand the DED pathogen. To increase American elm's long-term recovery as a canopy tree, it is crucial to increase the genetic variation of tolerant elms available for planting in urban and rural settings. Related Research: "New American Elms Restore Stately Trees" (1996) "Evaluation of 19 American Elm Clones for Tolerance to Dutch Elm Disease" (2005) "Proceedings of the American Elm Restoration Workshop" (2016) "Development of New Dutch Elm Disease-Tolerant Selections for Restoration of the American Elm in Urban and Forested Landscapes" (2017) Scientists: Jennifer Koch, Research Biologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio Kathleen Knight, Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio Denny Townsend, Research Geneticist (Retired), USDA ARS, ​​U.S. National Arboretum, Washington, D.C. Dale Lesser, Farmer, Lesser Farms and Orchard, Dexter, Michigan Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-2-backcross-episode-4-return-elm-street Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov

Tree species restoration—especially with species that are threatened with extinction—isn't even on the table unless you have resistant planting stock. But, trees live on another timescale than humans—a much longer one. And, to be a geneticist, to breed, your job is to infiltrate that timeline, and to understand it. By understanding that timeline, you can begin to fiddle with it, fiddle with time, and with the future. The future of that plant, but also the future of our planet. Genetics allow us to make better trees, make a better world, and do it all by fooling our forests. Related Research: "The Evolution of Forest Genetics and Tree Improvement Research in the United States" (2015) "Institute of Forest Tree Breeding: Improvement and Gene Conservation of Iconic Tree Species in the 21st Century" (2017) "Breeding Trees Resistant to Insects and Diseases: Putting Theory into Application" (2017) "Common Misconceptions About Forest Tree Breeding, A Valuable Tool For Addressing Forest Health Issues" (2020) "Breeding for Resistance to Tree Pests: Successes, Challenges, and a Guide to the Future" (2021) "Restoration of Landscapes and Habitats Affected by Established Invasive Species" (2021) Scientists: Jennifer Koch, Research Biologist, Northern Research Station, Delaware, Ohio Produced by the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station. Want more information? Visit us at https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/nrs/products/multimedia/podcasts/forestcast-season-2-backcross-episode-2-how-do-you-breed-better Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov