Wildfires of Western Oregon Talk

Oregon 2017 wildfires in the gorge. | Photo by Tristan Fortsch

The Cape Perpetua Speaker Series is from January-March. Each part of the series is hosted by a special presenter who is well versed on a partiuclar point of interest. This event will focus on the wildfires of Western Oregon. The fires of last summer remind us that the moist conifer forests of western Oregon are subject to large wildfires. Tom Spies is a Research Forester with the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station, and his presentation will explore what we know of the longterm history of wildfire in coastal Oregon and its role in forest ecosystems. This talk will also examine fire history of the last several decades and discuss what the future of wildfire fire might be.

Tom Spies received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. from University of Michigan and has published widely in the fields of forest ecology, forest succession, stand and landscape structure and dynamics, and old growth forest ecology and conservation. He is also a professor at Oregon State University in the Forest Ecosystems & Society Department.