James Johnston is an academic expert in fire ecology, restoration forestry, environmental law and policy and collaborative governance. He’s also an expert on dendroecology, which is the study of ecological and environmental changes in tree rings. James has published more than two dozen peer reviewed papers in the past ten years that describe historical variability in wildfire throughout Oregon, the ecological effects of common forest restoration treatments like thinning and prescribed fire, and the effects of public policy on forest structure, composition, and ecological function. James works closely with collaborative stakeholder groups across Oregon like the Southern Willamette Forest Collaborative and the Blue Mountains Forest Partners. He serves on the Northwest Forest Plan Federal Advisory Committee where he is helping craft updates to land management plans for federal forests throughout western Oregon, western Washington, and northern California.
Recent Media:
- Western Cascades burned more frequently in centuries past, research shows (Jefferson Public Radio, Jan. 11, 2024)
- Wild Christmas tree harvesting can help forests, but mostly it’s just a good time (Boise State Public Radio News, Dec. 21, 2023)
- Our view: Study validates critical importance of forest thinning (Blue Mountain Eagle, Sept. 15, 2023)
- People are starting a lot of fires in the Pacific Northwest (High Country News, Aug. 8, 2023)
- This Vast Wildfire Lab Is Helping Foresters Prepare for a Hotter Planet (The New York Times, Jan. 5, 2022)
- Clearing the tinderbox: As the climate warms, a huge forest experiment aims to reduce wildfire risk and find common ground between loggers and environmentalists (Science, Sept. 16, 2021)
- ‘A recipe for a catastrophic fire: How an Oregon blaze became the nation’s largest (New York Times, July 23, 2021)
- Planned fires reduced damage of Oregon Wildfire, analysis shows (The Christian Science Monitor, July 21, 2021)
- The Bootleg Fire, the nation’s biggest, gives scientists an unexpected experiment (National Public Radio, July 20, 2021)