Forestcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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

On a scorching August afternoon in 1949, a small fire in Montana's Mann Gulch turned catastrophic in just minutes. Through storyteller David Turner, experience this haunting tale that transformed wildland firefighting forever, and discover how this fire claimed the lives of 13 smokejumpers and sparked a revolution in fire safety and science. Join Forestcast as we travel to Helena, Montana to commemorate this monumental moment in Forest Service history, and find out how science is part of this story.

Related Research:

• The Thirteenth Fire
• The Legacy of the Mann Gulch Fire of 1949
• The 75th Anniversary of the Mann Gulch Fire
• Staff Ride to the Mann Gulch Fire

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

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

Maggie Hardy is the program manager of the Rocky Mountain Research Station Forest and Woodland Ecosystems Program, a group of scientists that develops and delivers scientific knowledge and management tools for sustaining and restoring the health, biodiversity, productivity, and ecosystem processes of forest and woodland landscapes.

Before joining the Rocky Mountain Research Station, Maggie served as Chief Regulatory Scientist and as an Executive Director with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority. In these roles, Maggie managed areas of policy; regulation and budget; provided strategic stakeholder engagement; and led integrated learning and development initiatives. In previous federal government roles, including with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga., Maggie held broad responsibilities for program implementation and regulatory assurance, as well as emergency response and preparedness. Her career has focused on incorporating research in drug discovery, bioterrorism agents, vector-borne diseases, and foodborne, waterborne, and environmental diseases.

Related Research:

• Engaging Rural Australian Communities in National Science Week Helps Increase Visibility for Women Researchers (2017)
• Moving Beyond Metrics: A Primer for Hiring and Promoting a Diverse Workforce in Entomology and Other Natural Sciences (2017)
• Create Ethics Codes to Curb Sex Abuse (2014)
• Spider-Venom Peptides: Structure, Pharmacology, and Potential for Control of Insect Pests (2013)

Scientist:

• Maggie Hardy, Forest & Woodland Ecosystems Program Manager, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Flagstaff, Arizona

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-9-scientific-ethical

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 plant pathologist, Jenny Juzwik, conducts studies on diseases of trees that impact forest health and productivity.

Her career-long interest and passion has been the study of interactions among microorganisms and insects associated with disease occurrence and development. One particular focus has been on the insects responsible for transmission of the oak wilt fungus, Bretziella fagacearum. In 2014 she completed research that involved elucidation of the major biotic determinants of hickory decline and investigation of the role(s) putative pathogens play in the complex. In 2010, she initiated 13 years of investigations of bark and ambrosia beetles associated with eastern black walnut in the Midwestern states and their potential as carriers of the Thousand Cankers Disease fungus, Geosmithia morbida, as well as other pathogenic fungi that may cause symptoms similar to those of thousand cankers disease.

Related Research:

• Oak Wilt StoryMap: A Regional View of Oak Wilt and its Management (2022)
• Matching Causes with Symptoms: Research Improves Diagnosis of Declining Eastern Black Walnut (2020)
• Ambrosia Beetles and Bark-Colonizing Weevils Carry Thousand Cankers Disease Fungus (2016)

Scientist:

• Jenny Juzwik, Research Plant Pathologist, Northern Research Station, St, Paul, Minnesota

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-7-life-healthy-forests

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 Sjana Schanning’s fieldwork has taken her from the Rincon Mountains of Arizona, to the the winter woods of Wisconsin, to the summer shores of Michigan’s Isle Royale. But, she’s recently shifted away from the field towards data analysis, our cities’ trees and the Urban FIA Program.

Sjana collects field data and performs data analysis and reporting for the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program. FIA data provides critical status and trend information to resource managers, policy makers, investors, and the public through a system of annual resource inventory that covers both public and private forest lands across the United States.

Related Research:

• Modernized Forest Inventory Reports Provide Online, Interactive Storytelling with Data Visualization (2022)
• Urban FIA: Where We Have Been, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going (2015)

Scientist:

• Sjana Schanning, Ecologist, Forest Inventory and Analysis, Northern Research Station, Hayward, 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-5-plots-blocks-sjana

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 Chelcy Miniat shares watershed moments of her career and life, from a spark of science in sixth grade, to her time at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, to her decisions about if and when to have children.

Chelcy is the program manager of the Rocky Mountain Research Station Maintaining Resilient Dryland Ecosystems (MRDE) program, a group of scientists that investigates the biology, use, management, and restoration of grasslands, shrublands, and deserts. Her own research is centered on developing a mechanistic understanding of watershed ecosystem function by studying how abiotic and biotic factors (species, environmental variables, disturbances) regulate carbon, nutrient, and water cycling processes.

Related Research:

• The Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory and the Coweeta Long‐Term Ecological Research Project (2021)

Scientist:

• Chelcy Miniat, Maintaining Resilient Dryland Ecosystems Program Manager, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Albuquerque, New Mexico

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-3-watershed-moments

Questions or ideas for the show? Connect with Jon at: jonathan.yales@usda.gov