David Ferguson has worked for the Natural Resources Conservation Service since 2004. He is a member of the Klamath-Lake County Forest Health Partnership and the Umpqua Oak Partnership. David was the lead conservationist for the Taylor-Klondike wildfire recovery project and is currently for many other projects in both Josephine and Douglas counties.
Read MoreJanet Lancaster is a community organizer and wildfire preparedness advocate. Months after retiring to Merlin in 2018, the US Forest Service published a report naming Merlin the community most at-risk of wildfire in Oregon. This began her quest to learn - and share with her community - what homeowners can do to prevent, prepare for and survive wildfire. She co-founded Firesmart Merlin in January 2019, which offers free community meetings on wildfire readiness and related topics.
Read MoreJessica Halofsky’s research is focused on assessing potential effects of climate change on forest vegetation and disturbance regimes, using both modelling and field-based approaches. Jessica also facilitates development of climate change vulnerability assessments and adaptation plans for national forests and other partners across the western United States.
Read MoreRich Fairbanks is a local fire professional and speaks about the importance of securing a perimeter and how creating and maintaining defensible space around homes is a year-long process. Even in the summer when we won’t be doing controlled burns or running a chainsaw, there is much we can do to protect homes, communities, and lives from fire. Rich lives in southwest Oregon and has over 40 years of experience in firefighting and forest management, including in our local Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest.
Read MoreBelinda Brown is an enrolled Kosealekte Band member of the Ajumawi-Atsuge Nation (Pit River Tribe). She is honored to bring the collective voice of tribal communities to the leadership of Lomakatsi and the Rogue Basin as the Tribal Partnerships Director of Lomakatsi. She works to include and maintain a tribal presence as the first, best stewards of the land, incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into current best practices in ecosystem and ecocultural restoration. Her work has spanned 30 years of intergovernmental affairs coordination in Indian Country as a tribal leader.
Read MoreRichard F. O’Rourke III is an indigenous fire practitioner and the Fire Coordinator for the Cultural Fire Management Council (CFMC). He is a Yurok Tribal member, and has lived on the banks of the Klamath River for the majority of his life. He has been using fire as a defensive tool against wildfire for over 30 years. As Fire Coordinator for the CFMC he has started using fire on a landscape level for the revival of cultural resources, fuel reduction, and returning the landscape into a healthy, biologically diverse ecosystem.
Read MoreElizabeth Azzuz is of Yurok and Karuk descent. She grew up in the traditional Yurok village of Weitchpec, where she currently resides. She is a cultural practitioner, gathering and propagating traditional food and medicine plants. She is the Cultural Fire Management Council Board of Directors Secretary, a key planner for TREX, responsible for logistics and permitting. She is an active community member, a mom, and a grandma.
Read MoreMargo Robbins is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Cultural Fire Management Council (CFMC). She is one of the key planners and organizers of the Culture Burn Training Exchange (TREX) that takes place on the Yurok Reservation twice a year. She is also a co-lead and advisor for the Indigenous People's Burn Network. Margo is an enrolled member of the Yurok Tribe, she gathers and prepares traditional food and medicine, is a basket weaver and regalia maker. She is the Indian Education Director for the Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School district, a mom, and a grandma.
Read MoreDr. Doug Bird is Associate Professor of ecological anthropology, with broad interests in how social and ecological factors interact to influence patterns of resource use and their archaeological expressions. He focuses especially on questions about livelihood decisions and habitats, exploring the dynamics of human subsistence practices, their role in ecosystem function, and their archaeological implications in Australia and Western North America.
Read MoreBill Kuhn has been the Area Ecologist for the US Forest Service Southwest Oregon area since 2017, and leads a small team of ecologists that support the Rogue River-Siskiyou and Umpqua National Forests. As an applied ecologist, Bill utilizes published research, models, datasets, and inventory and monitoring data to inform forest specialists and managers about recommended management direction. His work focuses on forest restoration needs, objectives, and implementation, as well as vegetation, fire effects, and climate impacts monitoring. His management interests and expertise lie in the fields of vegetation and forest ecology, fire ecology, climate change adaptation, and restoration ecology.
Read MoreTaught Biology and Environmental Science for thirty years at Southeast Missouri State University, was active in the local Sierra Club group, and formed the Southeast Missouri Climate Protection Initiative. After relocating to Southern Oregon with wife Kathy Conway Alan built an energy efficient passive/active solar home in the Applegate Valley. Finding no grassroots climate activist organization in the region, Alan and Kathy established Southern Oregon Climate Action Now, of which he serves as Co-facilitator and Board President.
Read MoreAn Ashland native, Chris has worked at Ashland Fire and Rescue since 2002. A graduate of the Oregon State University College of Forestry, Chris worked for the US Forest Service and BLM for 5 seasons in silviculture, fire, botany, and wildlife and fisheries biology. For Ashland Fire & Rescue, Chris coordinated National Fire Plan grants for 6 years with hundreds of private landowners, co-authored the 2004 Ashland Community Wildfire Protection Plan and 2005 Jackson County Integrated Fire Plan and participated in the genesis and ongoing implementation of the Ashland Forest Resiliency Stewardship Project.
Read MoreDr. Christopher J. Dunn, is a post-doc researcher at Oregon State University, who focuses on wildfire management strategies, and how fire behaves across the checkerboard landscape of public and private ownership in southern Oregon. Dunn has published many studies using satellite imagery and local data to analyze the factors that drive fire severity.
Read MorePam Marsh is an American Democratic politician currently serving in the Oregon House of Representatives. She represents the 5th district, which covers southern Jackson County, including the city of Ashland.
Read More
