This week on The Landscape, Aaron and Kate talk to forest scientists Megan Cattau and Nayani Ilangakoon to find out what’s up in the world of wildfire risk reduction and forest recovery. Specifically, they ask about the U.S. Forest Service’s plan to plant a billion trees over the next decade, as well as how climate change is affecting forest recovery after wildfires.

Megan Cattau is an assistant professor of human-environment systems at Boise State University, who uses geospatial techniques on large datasets to explore patterns of forest disturbance and recovery. Nayani Ilangakoon is a postdoctoral associate at University of Colorado Boulder’s EARTH LAB, who uses remote sensing technology to research the post-fire recovery of Western conifer forests. 

• Prescribed Burns Are Encouraged. Why Was a Federal Employee Arrested for One? – New York Times
• US to plant 1 billion trees as climate change kills forests – Associated Press
• U.S. Taking Emergency Steps to Protect Sequoias From Wildfires – New York Times
• The Unconventional Weapon Against Future Wildfires: Goats – New York Times
• Wild Horses Could Keep Wildfire At Bay – NPR
• Could ‘Smokey Beaver’ help fight wildfires? – OPB
• Feds want the ability to cut back on Colorado River reservoir releases over the next two years – KUNC

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss

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Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: U.S. Forest Service

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