Faculty Weigh in on Montana's Wildfire Season
2017 was a very active fire season in Montana. Fire danger levels were declared "high" or "extreme" across much of the state. Governor Steve Bullock declared emergencies for the fires as well a drought disaster declaration. According to the Northern Rockies Coordination Center, as of Sept. 26, 2017, Montana had experienced a total of 1,867 fires burning 1,247,575 acres.
Not surprisingly, local and national media outlets covered the Montana fires from many angles — and reached out to our faculty for expert explanations. Check out these articles where our faculty weigh in on fires:- DC Delegation Visits Lolo Fire, Decries Environmental Lawsuits on Montana Public Radio featuring Dean Tom DeLuca and recently retired professor Steve Running (Aug. 24, 2017)
- Does logging help prevent forest fires? on ABC Fox Montana featuring professor Andrew Larson (Sept. 1, 2017)
- Fire and mud: Lake study reveals results of ancient wildfire in Missoulian newspaper featuring Phil Higuera's wildfire research (Sept. 2, 2017)
- The West is on Fire. Get Used to It in CityLab featuring Phil Higuera (Sept. 11, 2017)
- The Science of Fighting Wildfires Gets a Satellite Boost in Wired magazine featuring Carl Seielstad and recently retired professor Steve Running (Sept. 11, 2017)
- Wildfires raged over nine states for the first half of September. Here's what will rise from the ashes. Popular Science, featuring professor Andrew Larson (Sept. 13, 2017)
- Forest Ecologist Comments on Senator Daines' Fire Call on Montana Public Radio featuring professor Andrew Larson (Sept. 14, 2017)
- Weather systems: Push didn't come to pull in driest summer since '29 in the Missoulian newspaper featuring professor Kelsey Jencso (Sept. 13, 2017)
- Wildfires, the smoking gun of Western climate change? an op-ed by Kelsey Jencso and Nick Silverman from the Montana Climate Office, and MSU colleague Cathy Whitlock, published in Last Best News and Great Falls Tribune.
- Rep Gianforte Criticizes Environmental Groups For Logging Lawsuits on Montana Public Radio featuring professor Andrew Larson and Dean Tom DeLuca (Sept. 15, 2017)
- Zinke's fire memo calls for aggressive forest thinning in High Country News featuring professors Andrew Larson and Phil Higuera (Sept. 18, 2017)
- Montana Wildfires Reignite Loggin Debate on NPR's All Things Considered, featuring professor Andrew Larson (Sept. 21, 2017)
- Senators Pitch Forest Management Bill in the Daily Inter Lake featuring professor Andrew Larson (Sept. 28, 2017)
- Experts: More logging and thinning to battle wildfires might just burn taxpayer dollars in the Missoulian featuring professor Andrew Larson (Oct. 6, 2017)
- The $2 billion question: Spending on fighting fires or preventing them on Marketplace featuring professor Phil Higuera (Oct. 24, 2017)
- Get used to it: Fire experts warn summer smoke and flames aren't going away in the Missoulian featuring professor Phil Higuera (Oct. 24, 2017)
- 'Gone are the days we can overwhelm a fire with mass' in the Great Falls Tribune featuring professor Phil Higuera (Oct. 25, 2017)
- Get used to wildfire, and rethink 'natural processes' panelists say on Montana Public Radio feating professor Phil Higuera (Oct. 25, 2017)
- Learning to live with Western wildfires a guest column in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle by professors Phil Higuera, Andrew J. Larson and Elizabeth Covelli Metcalf (Oct. 28, 2017)
- Experts see "fuel treatment" as key to easing future fire seasons on KPAX featuring professor Phil Higuera (Oct. 30, 2017)
- Collaborative group seeks consensus after Montana's summer of smoke on MTPR featuring professor Andrew Larson and retired dean Jim Burchfield (Nov. 6, 2017)
- The controversies that defined the 2017 fire season—and foreshadow the fires next time in the Missoula Independent featuring professors Phil Higuera and Andrew Larson (Nov. 9, 2017)
- Report: 2017 Fire Season Costs Montana up to $240.5M in Visitor Spending - Analysis conducted by ITRR (Dec. 19, 2017)
- Report: Fires cost Montana $240 million in tourist spending picked up on AP (Dec. 21, 2017) in Seattle Times; US News and World Report; Bozeman Daily Chronicle; Missoulian and more
Watch this newly released video Wild Science: Wilderness and Fire, presented by the Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute and featuring professor Andrew Larson.
