2022 JFSC Info

My name is Evan Alvarado, I am a student currently studying parks and recreation management at East Tennessee State University. On the side I am a volunteer firefighter, a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and an avid kayaker. I am interested in wildland fire because it is a perfect mesh of two things, I deeply care about; the outdoors and firefighting. I look forward to learning more about the subject and bringing my knowledge back home to East Tennessee to share with my classmates and fellow firefighters.

My name is Maria Anastacio, and I am from Dallas, TX. I recently graduated from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX where I received my bachelors in Natural Resources Management with a concentration in Conservation science. During my undergraduate time I was able to gain hands on experiences with wildlife and the outdoors that solidified my passion for conservation and protecting public lands. I am pursing an M.S in Wildlife, Aquatic, and Wildlife Science and Management at Texas Tech University. I hope to find a career where I can educate the public on land management strategies, primarily people to lack access to public areas.

Rebecca Cox is a recent graduate from Wellesley College in Environmental Studies and Studio Art. With a background in scientific research at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and with the Sea Education Association, her focus has been primarily on marine biology and ecology. Her experience at Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant introduced her to managerial questions regarding marine ecosystems, and enabled her to refine her academic and professional focus to environmental management. She looks forward to investigating first-hand the problems facing terrestrial ecosystems and broadening her knowledge of land management through the John Freemuth Student Congress. A lover of scientific research and fieldwork, Rebecca is eager to gain exposure to and experience in new types of experimental work in the field during her time in Idaho.

Jacob graduated from Boise State University’s School of Public Service, earning a B.S. in Political Science and a minor in Environmental Studies. His research interests include water governance, public lands, Indigenous resilience, climate extremes, and social-ecological systems across the western U.S. His most recent research delves into the socio-ecological and political economy of the Snake River and Colorado River Basins’. Specifically, Jacob discussed water policy frameworks, current and future management regimes, environmental justice, and the hydrologic conditions of watersheds. He is also engaged with NGOs to update water quality data for Idaho State Parks, ensuring public waterways are safe for recreational use. Jacob is a research assistant for the Transformation Network, which aims to build resilient communities and ecosystems throughout the Intermountain Western landscapes, with Indigenous emphasis. Jacob is pursuing an M.S. in Environment and Society at Utah State University.

Betsy Black is a biology MS student at Northern Arizona University advised by Michelle Mack and Xanthe Walker. Her research investigates the effects of a widespread shift in forest composition on wildfire carbon combustion in the boreal forests of Alaska and the Yukon. Prior to beginning her graduate research, Betsy encountered wildfires while working as a park ranger at Haleakalā National Park in Hawaii and while interning at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico. Betsy grew up in upstate New York, received her BA in biology from Amherst College, and immensely enjoys—but is terrible at—recreational botanizing.

Cameron is a senior at Boise State University studying anthropology, environmental studies, and Native American studies. She is originally from Sheridan, Wyoming, and is passionate about the outdoors and the environment. She is interested in the intersection of conservation, land management, and working with stakeholders. She recognizes the importance of empowering local communities to help meet conservation and land management goals. After graduation, she hopes to work at an environmental nonprofit or at a state agency. In her free time, Cameron enjoys rock climbing, backpacking, skiing, and traveling.

Clara is a recent graduate of Boise State University with a degree in Biology emphasizing in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. She is a Fisheries Technician for the U.S. Forest Service on the Salmon-Challis National Forest where she carries out the mission of sustaining the health, diversity, and productivity of the forest’s fisheries to meet the needs of present and future generations. Her current research is focused on the jumping ability of wild age-0 Brook Trout and she is working toward publishing her findings to aid fisheries management efforts in mitigating non-native species introduction.

Anna Crabtree is a junior at Ohio University where she is double majoring in environmental studies and mechanical engineering. As a Russ Legacy Cutler Scholar and member of the Honors Tutorial College, she has received support to engage in volunteer work with NorthWoods Stewardship Center as a youth conservation corp leader and intern with Outdoor Pursuits as a trip leader for university students. It is through these experiences that she discovered her passion for land stewardship, environmental education, and wonder. After college she plans to travel and engage in opportunities that serve her passion for conservation, increase her knowledge of various ecosystems, and provide the ability to educate and foster a sense of wonder in herself and others.

I’m Carolina Estrella. I was born in Ketchum, ID and line in Hailey, ID. I grew up in an immigrant household with my first language being Spanish. I enjoyed camping with my family every summer in the Sawtooths which helped me gain an interest in the outdoors at a young age. I am currently going to Wellesley College and am pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies.

Alyssa Farnes is a Senior at Idaho State University where she is majoring in Earth and Environmental Systems with a concentration in Geospatial Information Systems. She is employed at the ISU GIS Training and Research Center as a GIS Technician researching how to use satellite remote sensing and GIS to identify vulnerabilities in the power grid due to wildfire. This project will contribute to the completion of her Honors Senior Thesis. Growing up in Eastern Idaho meant close access to beautiful National Forests and Parks that fostered her love of public lands and the desire to preserve them. Alyssa aspires to later complete a master’s degree and pursue a career researching public lands, Earth observation, and science communication. She is the Vice President of the ISU Geology Club and enjoys spending her free time hiking, practicing photography, and playing the piano.

Megan Gulik is a senior at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale where she is majoring in Forestry with a concentration in Wildlife Habitat Management and Conservation. Megan is involved in a several registered student organizations at SIU including Forestry Club, the Society of American Foresters SIUC Student Chapter, and the SIU Firedawgs. She has training in fire management and has volunteered on many prescribed burns with the Firedawgs as well as the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Megan aspires to pursue a career in fire and fuels management with a federal land management agency in the US. In her free time, she enjoys spending time the great outdoors camping, fishing, hiking, and kayaking.

Adam Lohman is a second-year graduate student at Duke University pursuing dual Master’s Degrees in Forestry and Environmental Management. After completing an undergraduate degree in Theater Studies at Yale University, he spent three legislative sessions working in the Oregon Legislature on forestry, wildfire, and climate policy. He recently completed an assistantship studying and reporting on natural climate solutions with the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. He spent the last summer interning with the U.S. Forest Service in California and researching fuel breaks for the Edison Electric Institute. After graduating, he hopes to continue his career in public service at a government agency, working to translate sound science into effective policy. He is especially interested in forestry, wildfire, and conservation policy and enjoys baking in his spare time.

Bradley Massey is a Forestry major with a concentration in Forest Management at Alabama A&M University, where he currently serves as the school’s Forestry Club President. He is from Huntsville, AL. and is a recent recipient for the USDA/1890 National Scholars Program. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends and in the great outdoors, by going hunting and fishing. He recently received all his certifications to become a Type 2 wildland firefighter through the US Forest Service and is an active participant with the university’s student led wildland fire crew AAMU Firedawgs.

Eliza Moreno was born and raised in Los Angeles, California to a mother from Mazatlán, Mexico and to a father from Santa Ana, El Salvador. She earned her B.A. in Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies with a minor in Global Health in 2018 from Duke University. Her strong interests in social impact and equitable change have not only guided her academically, but also professionally. Upon graduating from Duke, Eliza has worked at various mission-driven organizations, such as the ACLU in the education sector. Eliza Moreno earned her M.A. in Latin American Studies with a specialization on the environment, ecology and sustainability from Stanford University in 2022. Today, Eliza continues to interrogate racial, gender and environmental intersections with Belle Haven Action, an environmental justice organization in the Bay Area.

Nicholas Silvis is a Mathematical Economics and Public Policy double major with a minor in Environmental Studies who has particular interests in environmental economics and policy. Although relatively new to the world of wildfire management and policy, he is excited to learn and connect with leaders in the field. An avid outdoorsman, Nick enjoys trail running, climbing, obstacle racing, and kayaking. He currently lives in Hershey, PA.

I’m a master’s student in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture at Mississippi State University. My research focuses on understanding (mis)alignments in conservation planning tools in the Southeastern U.S. and incorporating species distribution models to inform open pine prioritization tools. I grew up in Savannah, Missouri and earned degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies at Truman State University in 2016. Additionally, I earned a certificate in GIS for Natural Resources from Utah State University in 2019. Before arriving at MSU, I worked on a national wildlife refuge in Massachusetts, a national park science network in Missouri, and with the Rainwater Basin Joint Venture in Nebraska. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time outdoors hiking or birding, and indoors playing board games, trivia, and enjoying live music at local venues. You may also catch me daydreaming about restoring tallgrass prairie and oak savanna for grassland birds.

My name is Connor Tobin, and I am originally from Los Angeles, CA. I am a senior at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, where I am majoring in biology and minoring in history. I spent the summer of 2022 working as a research tech for a professor who was running various grassland ecology studies. I spent the two preceding summers working as a wildland firefighter. My first season was down in Grants Pass, Oregon on a contract crew, and my second season was with the Spokane District BLM, based out of Wenatchee, WA. After graduating I plan to spend at least a few more years working as a firefighter, and then I hope to move into a policy or research position within the field. My main hobbies are backpacking – I hiked the PCT in 2017 and have done several other thru hikes – and playing jazz guitar.

Kyle Trefny (he/him) is a firefighter, organizer, economics student, and published visual artist with work in national exhibitions, reaching tens of millions of people. At the University of Oregon, Kyle is helping create spaces for student community, advocacy, and awareness about fire, and outside he works as the Development Coordinator for the nonprofit organization Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology (FUSEE). Kyle was raised in the Bay Area and has a background in wildlife education, conservation, and climate justice efforts. When he’s not busy, Kyle enjoys reading, studying Chinese, and going on up to two hundred mile walks.

Evie is a Master of Environmental Science and Management candidate at UC Santa Barbara’s Bren School. Originally from Minneapolis, Evie grew up adventuring about the Northwoods, which inspired his interests in forest conservation. After graduating from Whitman College with a degree in Economics-Environmental Studies, he held various finance and ESG jobs before working for a forestry company in Portland, Oregon. In 2020, Evie left his job to focus on conservation and environmental justice work and pursue his master’s degree. He currently serves as a board chair and the treasurer for 350PDX, a Portland-based environmental justice nonprofit. At Bren, Evie is specializing in conservation planning and participating in the program’s sustainable forestry fellowship. He also contributes to research work with UCSB’s Earth Research Institute. As a National Forest Foundation Fellow last summer, Evie identified opportunities and investments to optimize the utilization of forest restoration byproducts in the northern Blue Mountains.

Nicholas Welsh is a senior at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont. He is majoring in a BS of Environmental Science. In college he spends his time split between the major, Saint Michael’s College Fire and Rescue, and Army ROTC at the University of Vermont. After college, he intends to move to Colorado and work in the fire service and the National Park Service. Through the college’s student led fire and rescue department, he has been able to get a basis for emergency service which has paired well with topics such as environmental hazards such as wildfires taught through the major. He hopes to gain knowledge from this conference to bring back to his dept. and utilize in the future.

My name is Kevin Williams, and I recently received an associate degree in geology from the College of Western Idaho. I am also working towards a GIS certificate. I have had the opportunity to work in a number of industries including ski resort operations, bicycle mechanics, and was also a technician in the biomedical field. I enjoy learning about remote sensing and everything we can learn from satellite imagery as well as drone technology. I am an FAA certified UAS pilot and hope to be able to use drones in my work in the future.

Alyssa Worsham graduated from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science in 2016. She has 6 years of experience working as a planner in environmental consulting in both Los Angeles, CA and Seattle, WA. Her work involves GIS mapping and technical writing for environmental documentation (CEQA, SEPA, and NEPA). She is currently a second-year graduate student at Western Colorado University in the Master’s of Environmental Management program. She is in the Integrated and Public Lands Management track and her master’s project is titled “Decision-Making Processes and Policy Implications for Fire Management in Designated Wilderness”. The project will use surveys and interviews of public land managers to gather information on current plans, policies, and practices for fire management within wilderness areas to create universal, comprehensive policy recommendations that can be applied across agencies. Additionally, Alyssa is an enthusiastic outdoor recreationist including rock climbing, mountaineering, skiing, and backpacking.

Grant Beebe is the Deputy Assistant Director for Fire and Aviation, a position he was hired into in September of 2018.  He was formerly FA’s Division Chief for Budget and Evaluation.  Grant is originally from north of Chicago, grew up in various parts of the county, and was hired at the Great Basin Smokejumpers in Boise in 1990.  In 1997, he took a break from the BLM to work in Indonesia for the German government helping with fire training and fire readiness.  In 1998, he returned to Boise and became the Base Manager for the smokejumper unit.  Grant worked in planning and budget from 2006 through 2018.  Prior to being hired with the BLM, he worked for the Forest Service in northern California running a Type II fire crew program.  Grant attended University of California at Davis, where he received a bachelor’s degree in English, with an emphasis in Teaching.  He also holds a master’s degree in Forest Fire Management from Colorado State University.  Grant spends his free time with his wife and children at their new cabin in the Sawtooth Range northeast of Boise.

Jim spent a 42 year career in natural resource management at federal and state level. He held leadership positions with the Forest Service, in the Idaho Governor’s office, and retired as Director of the Bureau of Land Management.

Patricia Champ is a research economist with the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station in Fort Collins CO. She is an applied economist with expertise in nonmarket valuation and is lead editor on two editions of A Primer on Nonmarket Valuation. Her wildfire nonmarket research has contributed to understandings about the economic costs of wildfire smoke exposure and the effects of wildfire risk on home sales prices. Her primary wildfire research focus is on the intersection of community wildfire education programs and wildland-urban interface homeowners’ risk mitigating and wildfire preparation behaviors. She is a founding member of the Wildfire Research Team (WiRē), a collaboration of researchers and practitioners that conducts innovative applied wildfire research to help communities adapt and become resilient to wildfires.

Jamie E. Connell retired from the Bureau of Land Management in 2022. During her her four decade career in land management she served as a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) State Director for 12 years in 3 different regions: Colorado (2018-2022), Oregon/Washington (2016-2018), and the Montana-Dakotas State Director (2010-1016).

Prior to her appointment as a State Director, Jamie was BLM’s Northwest Colorado District Manager. She also served as a BLM and US Forest Service field level manager for the more than 20 years in numerous locations across Montana, Idaho, and Colorado gaining a diverse range of experience. She provided oversight for complex, significant energy development projects; managed extensive rangeland, wilderness and wildlife resources; and has administered some of our nation’s most visited ski areas. Jamie is a native of Montana. She graduated from Montana Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering. Jamie and her husband John are avid outdoor enthusiasts enjoying hiking, skiing, fly-fishing and upland hunting over their wirehaired birddogs. She also enjoys a good curling match and looks forward to improving her game on the ice as part of an active retirement.

Jamie is a member of the Public Lands Foundation, Interim Vice Chair for the National Association of Forest Service Retirees, and Treasurer of the Billings Curling Club.

Throughout her career, Michele has been heavily involved in ecological research and modeling in the disciplines of landscape ecology as well as wildlife, fire, forest and sagebrush ecology, climate change, and invasive species management. In her current position, as a landscape ecologist for the BLM Fire Planning and Fuels Management Division, she leads the development, coordination, and application of science. She has produced several interagency geospatial assessments and frameworks used in large-scale prioritization and management of fire risk, vegetation restoration, and invasive annual grasses that have a negative influence on wildfire. She has led inter-agency teams to develop tools, guidance documents, and large-scale frameworks for wildland fire and natural resource management. She also collaborates with USGS, US Forest Service, universities, and other organizations on research projects that inform the placement of fuel treatments to help reduce uncharacteristic fire at national and regional scales. In her spare time, she was a director on the National Audubon Society’s Board for over 8 years.

Jim is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Northwestern Montana (CSKT). He holds a B.S. in Forest Resource Management from the University of Montana (‘87. He currently has over 39 years of experience in wildland fire management, forest planning and management, and environmental compliance. He is currently the Intertribal Timber Council’s (ITC) Wildland Fire Technical Specialist, contractor. Durglo was the Forestry Department Head for the CSKT from 2003-2017.

Prior to that, he was a Forestry Project Planning Program Manager, the National Environmental Policy Act Compliance Program Manager at CSKT; a Bureau of Indian Affair’s Environmental Specialist and Forestry Presales Officer at the Yakama Agency in Toppenish, WA; and a Presales Forester at the Warm Springs Agency in Central Oregon. Durglo also spent three summers with the US Forest Service as a smokejumper in Missoula, Montana.

Mark A. Finney is a Senior Scientist and Research Forester with the US Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory. He has devoted his career to understanding fire as an ecological and physical process and has conducted research on prescribed burning and fuel treatment effects across the western United States. His wildfire modeling forms basis for operational wildfire predictions throughout the US. He holds a Ph.D. in wildland fire science from Univ. California at Berkeley (1991), an M.S. in Fire Ecology from University of Washington (1986), and a B.S. in Forestry from Colorado State University (1984).

Sheri Freemuth, AICP, has over 35 years’ experience in land use planning including the preparation of environmental studies and comprehensive plans. She is a skilled manager of people and projects, with experience in multiple sectors: public service, private consulting, and non-profit organizations. Ms. Freemuth has prepared NEPA environmental studies, applying her knowledge of land use, natural and cultural resources. At present, she is a Senior Planner with J-U-B Engineers supporting a variety of community and transportation planning projects for cities and counties. She has a Master of City Planning degree from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Arts from Scripps College. She and John Freemuth were married in 1987 until his death in 2020.

Jennifer Forbey is a Full Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Boise State University, Boise, Idaho, USA. Her lab uses analytical chemistry, physiology, ecology, and remote sensing to predict mechanisms and consequences of the chemical interactions between plants and vertebrate herbivores. She applies these approaches to understand how sage-grouse and pygmy rabbits interact with sagebrush in post-fire habitats. Her projects help explain seasonal, annual, and spatial patterns of plants and vertebrate herbivores that help agencies and private landowners monitor and manage our working landscapes before and after wildfires.

Nancy began her career with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Boise, Idaho. After several years as the volunteer program coordinator, where she worked with BLM’s many partners on projects ranging from bitterbrush planting post-fire to constructing trails. In 1997 she accepted a position in the BLM’s Office of Fire and Aviation at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). At NIFC, Nancy worked in public affairs to coordinate and communicate wildland and prescribed fire and natural resource issues with partner agencies, the Departments of Interior and Agriculture, the media, and the public. In 2005, she transitioned into leadership/management beginning with a position BLM Wyoming’s Kemmerer Field Office, and later as the field manager in Baker City, Oregon. In 2009, Nancy moved to California where she spent the final seven years of her BLM career as the Northern California district manager. While in this position, she also held senior leadership positions in Colorado, Idaho and Washington, D.C.

After retiring from BLM in 2016, Nancy pursued my second career as a certified professional mediator. She currently provides services for the Nevada and Idaho Supreme Courts as well as BLM.

Nancy’s passions include spending time with her children and grandchildren, backpacking, hiking, camping, photography, reading and writing. Her companions in these endeavors include her husband, Dave, and mini-Aussie, Maija.

Becki retired after nearly 40 years with the Forest Service, in December 2018. She has worked for the past 2 ½ years as the Program Development Consultant for National Experienced Workers Solutions (NEW Solutions), a nonprofit that delivers the Forest Service ACES program.

In 2020 she began consulting with the Forest Service, testing structured Decision Making and Risk Management processes in the Forest Service. This has led to content and delivery for both the Senior Leader Program and the Line Officer Academy’s, sponsored by the agency.

She currently serves on the Board for the National Association of Forest Service Retirees (NAFSR) as the Pacific Northwest representative.

She finished her career in a long-term detail to the WO, as Acting Associate Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry. For nearly 2 years, her work focused on risk management, testing, and improving risk informed decision making in wildfire situations, and further connecting line and fire leadership.

Prior to this she served for 4 years as the Deputy Regional Forester for the Pacific Northwest Region. Previously she served as the Forest Supervisor on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, in Wenatchee Washington, from August 2007 until September 2013. And prior to that, she served 6 years as the Forest Supervisor on the Gallatin National Forest, in Bozeman Montana.

Becki was District Ranger for the Leavenworth Ranger District on the Wenatchee National Forest from 1990-1999, then the Deputy Forest Supervisor for the Deschutes in Bend Oregon, until late 2001. Her early positions ranged from silviculturist to presale forester, on the Mt. Hood, Ochoco, Umatilla and Wenatchee National Forests.

She has a BS in Resource and Recreation Management from the OSU School of Forestry and a MS in Forest Management from the University of Washington.

Tim is the current Chairman of the Idaho Department of Fish and Game Commission; he was the BLM Director of Fire & Aviation at the National Interagency Fire Center; and BLM Idaho State Director. Tim was past Chair and a current Board Member of the University of Idaho Rangeland Center Partners Advisory Council.

Kristy Swartz coordinates the fuels management and post-fire programs and supports coordinated implementation of all the wildland fire provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for the Department of the Interior’s Office of Wildland Fire. She’s in her 28th year working in federal wildland fire management and has had the opportunity to work for two DOI Bureaus – the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management as well as USDA Forest Service along the way. She majored in Biology in college and started fighting fire with the Forest Service while still in school.

Jared Talley was born and raised in the Southwestern Idaho and is deeply connected to Idaho’s desert communities. He earned his doctorate in the philosophy of environmental governance from Michigan State University and his master’s in environmental policy and natural resource management from Boise State University. His research is place-based and focuses on community collaboration in the environmental governance of the American West; he is an environmental philosopher by training and an interdisciplinary scholar by practice. Jared’s work seeks to better understand how communities relate to the land and how this relationship poses obstacles and opportunities for collaboration and governance. Specifically, he works on grazing management and public land permitting, community-led monitoring programs, place-based environmental governance, rural environmental collaboration, and the imaginative experience of our natural and built environments — all in the contexts of the intermountain American West.

Rick Tholen is a retired federal forester who worked in 4 western states and Washington, D.C. during his 34 year career. He spent most of his career with the Bureau of Land Management and concluded his federal employment in 2008 working as a Senior Advisor for Forestry and Fire in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management. Rick earned a bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University and a Masters degree from the University of Idaho. He is a member of the Idaho Forest Restoration Partnership and the Payette Forest Coalition and is an Society of American Foresters Fellow.

Tom has spent over 50 years working in wildland fire management. He served with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), and US Forest Service (USFS) in training, program management, policy development, technology transfer, wildland fire use, prescribed fire, wildfire and emergency response, fire ecology, fire behavior, long-term risk assessment, and decision support, in both research and management branches. He has been an Incident Commander and Area Commander on Incident Management, Fire Use Management, and Area Command Teams. He has published three book chapters and over 80 professional papers and has a B.S. in Forestry, an M.S. in Forestry/Fire Ecology, and Ph.D. in Forest Fire Science. He is a certified Senior Wildland Fire Manager and Senior Fire Ecologist by the AFE and since retirement has served as a consultant in wildland fire management and emergency response and on the Board of Directors and President of the International Association of Wildland Fire.