Date: Wednesday, September 9th from 1-2 pm (MDT)
Hosted by: Ecosystem Workforce Program in collaboration between the Institute for a Sustainable Environment (University of Oregon) and the College of Forestry (Oregon State University) and co-sponsored by the Northwest Fire Science Consortium.

Wildfire has fundamentally shaped the western landscapes we seek to conserve. It is a source of renewal and central to the functioning of many ecosystems; as well as a destructive force that threatens communities and conservation values across public and private lands. Wildfire epitomizes myriad connectivities that we cannot escape. Yet as the frequency of large, severe wildfires has greatly increased over the past 20 years, it has called to attention the fragmented, sometimes conflicting approaches to natural resource conservation across different jurisdictions and organizations. Reducing threats and enhancing conservation benefits from wildfire will require synergistic collaboration and coordination to span these disconnects. Our discussants will provide a range of perspectives from applied social science and policy action around wildfire to suggest bold new ideas about how people in the western U.S. may live with fire in the 21st century, and how conservation policy could spur more effective collective action to address wildfire risk across public and private lands.

Panelists:

Dr. Tony Cheng

Tony Cheng is Director of the Colorado Forest Restoration Institute and Professor with a partial Extension appointment in the Department of Forest & Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University.  His primary research and engagement interest is in forest governance, policy and administration, with a focus on multi-stakeholder collaborative approaches to promote resilient social-ecological systems linked to forested landscapes.  In his capacity as an extension specialist and director of CFRI, Tony oversees programs to develop, compile, and apply locally-relevant scientific information to achieve forest restoration and wildfire hazard reduction goals. Born and raised in eastern Washington’s Palouse country, Tony has a PhD in Forestry from Oregon State University, a MS in Forestry from the University of Minnesota, and a BA in Political Science from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA.

Dr. Emily Jane Davis

Emily Jane Davis is an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society at Oregon State University, Associate Director of the Ecosystem Workforce Program, and Vice Chair of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition. She is a social scientist who analyzes natural resource collaboration, wildfire, public lands policy, and rural community development. She also provides technical assistance and support to a variety of collaborative and partnership efforts. Dr. Davis holds a BA(Hons) from McGill University, and a MA and PhD from the University of British Columbia.

Tyson Bertone-Riggs

Tyson Bertone-Riggs works as a policy analyst for the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, focusing on federal land management policy, particularly related to the US Forest Service. In addition to providing policy analysis, tracking, and engagement for the Coalition, he is the author of Understanding Good Neighbor Authority; a guidebook intended to help practitioners and the public better understand the history and evolving use of the authority. Tyson has a BA in political science and geography from the University of Oregon and an MF focused on forest policy from Oregon State University.

Moderator:

Dr. Cassandra Moseley

Cassandra Moseley is the Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of Oregon (UO). She directs the office of research and innovation and serves as the UO’s chief research officer. She joined the UO in 2001 and has had a distinguished career as a scientist and academic. Moseley serves as a research professor in the Institute for a Sustainable Environment, and has a particular focus on how natural resource policies affect rural communities, businesses and workers. She studies the changing face of wildfire management in the West and has testified before Congress as a policy expert. Moseley received her doctorate in political science from Yale University and her bachelor’s in mathematics and government from Cornell University. She works alongside the UO’s President and Senior Vice President and Provost to strengthen existing academic research programs and develop new partnerships and collaborations that make the UO a key contributor to the cultural, scientific, and economic development of the state, nation, and the world.