WWU’s Michael Medler to Discuss Wildfire Hazards in the West Oct. 15

Michael Medler, Western Washington University associate professor of Environmental Studies, will discuss the geography of wildfires as part of the WWU Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15 in Communications Facility 120.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Climate change, building practices, and a century of fire policies have combined to leave many of our forests explosive. Wildland firefighters, trained for work in the backcountry, are increasingly expected to protect homes and communities. Meanwhile, fire-suppression costs are going up even in moderate years, and many people are pressuring wildland agencies to vastly increase the acreage of fuel reduction programs. 

In his talk titled “The Pyrogeography of Wildfires in the Western U.S.,” Medler will discuss many of the spatial considerations in this debate. He will also present his findings about the spatial scale of some of the problems and the potential of some of the solutions.

Medler is a geographer who works at the intersection of fire science and fire policy and is a past president of The Association for Fire Ecology and the founding editor of the journal “Fire Ecology.” In August he testified before a hearing on Opportunities to Improve Federal Wildland Fire Management before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

The presentation will include a question-and-answer period. Anyone interested in the topic is encouraged to attend and participate.

The Huxley College Speaker Series, sponsored by Western’s Huxley College of the Environment, is intended to bring together environmentally-minded members of the WWU and Bellingham communities. Speakers address topics of contemporary environmental concern in the region and the world.

WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized leader in producing the next generation of environmental professionals and stewards. Huxley’s distinctive, interdisciplinary curriculum reflects a broad view of the physical, biological, social, and cultural world and has earned international recognition for quality.

For more information, please contact WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment at (360) 650-2554.