The University of Idaho has made available a roster of 13 researchers and specialists qualified to discuss wildfire management, risk assessment, and community preparedness with media and public audiences. The announcement comes as wildfire season continues across the Western states, with experts positioned to address questions about fire behavior, smoke impacts, ecological effects, and policy responses.
The university’s wildfire expertise spans multiple disciplines, from forest ecology and fire behavior to public health, community preparedness, and land management policy. Researchers are available to discuss how communities can strengthen their resilience to wildfires, how land managers can reduce fuel loads through prescribed burning and forest treatments, and how state and federal policies shape wildfire response and prevention efforts.
Policy and Economics Expertise
Dennis Becker, dean of the College of Natural Resources, brings experience in state and federal wildfire policy, policy evaluation, and the economics of wildfire management. He can address how wildfire costs affect budgets and how policy frameworks shape landowner incentives and programs designed to reduce risk.
Chelsea Pennick, associate director of the Policy Analysis Group, specializes in wildfire suppression funding mechanisms, the effects of large fires on rural communities, and collaborative approaches to forest management that bring together multiple stakeholders. Her expertise covers how funding structures influence response capacity and how rural regions experience the economic ripple effects of major fire seasons.
Community Preparedness and Fire Behavior
Travis Paveglio, director of the University of Idaho Wildland Fire Center, focuses on community-level wildfire preparedness and the concept of fire-adapted communities—neighborhoods and properties designed and managed to reduce vulnerability to wildfires. He also works on effective communication strategies to help residents understand and act on fire risk information.
Leda Kobziar, director of the Master of Natural Resources program, examines fire ecology, the science of prescribed burning, and the health impacts of smoke exposure. Her research includes pyroaerobiology, the study of how fire affects air quality and respiratory health.
Alistair Smith, chair of the Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences, and Grant Harley, associate dean and professor of geography, both study forest fire ecology and fire behavior. Harley’s work incorporates climate change and drought patterns, while Smith’s research focuses on vegetation ignition risk and how different forest conditions influence fire spread.
Forest Management and Fuels Reduction
Robert Keefe, director of the University of Idaho Experimental Forest, specializes in forest and fuels management strategies, the costs associated with wildfire mitigation, and the role of prescribed fire in reducing hazardous fuel accumulation. His work evaluates practical approaches to lowering wildfire risk through active management.
Heather Heward, president and founder of the Idaho Prescribed Fire Council, brings expertise in prescribed burning operations, wildland fire training, and fire and fuel monitoring techniques. She works to advance the use of controlled burning as a tool to manage forest health and reduce catastrophic fire risk.
Randall Brooks, an extension forestry specialist, addresses the occupational health and safety of firefighting personnel, including the effects of sleep deprivation and fatigue on crew performance and the physiological changes firefighters experience during extended deployments.
Ecological and Soil Impacts
Charles Goebel, head of the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences, studies forest ecology, ecosystem restoration following disturbance, and riparian area recovery. Jessica R. Miesel, also from the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences, focuses on how wildfires affect soil structure and soil burn severity, which influences post-fire recovery and erosion risk.
Eva Strand, professor emerita, examines rangeland ecology, vegetation and fuels management, and the long-term ecological effects of fire on plant communities and landscape function.
Luigi Boschetti, a professor of remote sensing, uses satellite and aerial observation technologies to monitor fire and forest conditions globally, studying how fire affects vegetation and carbon cycling across different ecosystems.
What Comes Next
Media outlets and community organizations interested in scheduling interviews with any of the university’s wildfire experts can contact Danae Lenz at dlenz@uidaho.edu. The university continues to conduct research on wildfire prevention, response, and recovery as fire seasons intensify across the region.