*Excited to be recruiting for a new MS project focused on restoration
ecology in dry forest ecosystems, working with Dr. Harold Zald and Dr. Meg
Krawchuk (me).*
*Full position and application details here*
*Application deadline: Friday, November 15th 2024*
*Graduate program start: Fall 2025*
*Preferred start date to lead field season and familiarize with project
context: mid-June 2025*
*The project:* We are recruiting a new MS student for funded research
project focused on Vegetation and surface fuel responses to
operational-scale thinning and prescribed burning in ponderosa pine and
mixed-conifer forests in the eastern Oregon Cascades, with field site
located at the USFS Pringle Falls Experimental Forest
.
The MS student will be co-supervised by Drs. Meg Krawchuk (Oregon State
University) and Harold Zald (USFS). The successful candidate will enroll in
the Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society (FES) in the College of
Forestry at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The MS would
begin Fall 2025. Preferred start date for the successful candidate is
mid-June 2025 so they can serve as crew lead for field data collection
during the summer of 2025 and gain familiarity with the project, site, and
data. The successful candidate will also lead a second field season in
summer 2026. The MS student will collaborate with Drs. Krawchuk and Zald to
improve our understanding of long-term changes in forest composition,
structure, and fuels after large operational-scale fuel reduction and
restoration treatments. The broad structure of the research program is
established, but the MS student will have leeway in identifying their own
nested research questions and ideas within this overall program.
To learn more about the FES Graduate program, please see:
https://fes.forestry.oregonstate.edu/graduate-programs/forest-ecosystems-society .
*The context:* After long periods of fire exclusion in historically
frequent fire conifer forests, initial fuel reduction treatments are
critical first steps for reducing high severity fire and promoting fire
resilient stands of large trees. However, treatment longevity in these
forest types is about 10-20 years, after which subsequent maintenance
treatments are required. Understanding long-term responses of overstory
trees, tree regeneration, understory vegetation, and surface fuels to first
entry fuel reduction treatments is critical to inform subsequent
maintenance treatments to meet multiple resource objectives, reduce
long-term treatment costs, and increase the pace, scale, and overall
benefits of fuel reduction treatments. The Lookout Mountain Study (LMS) at
Pringle Falls Experimental Forest (
https://research.fs.usda.gov/pnw/forestsandranges/locations/pringlefalls#research )
is uniquely positioned to examine these issues at an operational scale.
Located on the Deschutes National Forest, the LMS is a replicated
experiment coupling four levels of overstory thinning with understory fuels
reduction (mowing and prescribed burning) to restore open forest structure
and sustain fire adapted conditions with planned repeated burning. In this
project, the MS student will build a data-driven understanding of the
long-term effects of initial treatments in ponderosa pine and mixed-conifer
forests, helping to inform how subsequent maintenance treatments can best
achieve fuel reduction and ecological objectives. The broad structure of
the research program is established, but the MS student will have leeway in
identifying their own nested research questions and ideas within this
overall program.
*Application: *Please submit your CV, contact information for two
professional references, and a one-page statement describing your interests
and experiences in the topic area, including research, outreach, and
collaboration experiences. Please outline how you meet the required and
desired qualifications described below.
We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply, particularly
students who are underrepresented in the field of natural resources
management.
We will be contacting applicants and scheduling interviews, and successful
applicants will be invited to apply to the FES graduate program in the
College of Forestry at Oregon State University. Please do not apply to the
FES program without this invitation.
Applications should be emailed to: Dr. Meg Krawchuk (meg.krawchuk [at]
oregonstate.edu), with Dr. Harold Zald (harold.zald [at] usda.gov) ccEUR.
For more information or any questions, please contact Meg and Harold by
email.
*For full consideration, please submit your application materials by
Friday, November 15th, 2024.*
*Required qualifications:*
- Undergraduate coursework in some combination of forestry, forest
ecology, fire ecology, plant ecology, restoration ecology, or botany.
- Prior field work experience with forest inventory measurements,
fuels, or vegetation sampling
- Orienteering skills (navigation with map, compass, gps, and
aerial photographs)
- Ability to navigate off trail and hike up to five miles per day
in rolling/mountain terrain.
- Competent using Microsoft Word and Excel
- Possess a valid US driver’s license
- Ability to work effectively in teams in the office and field
*Desired qualifications:*
- BS degree in forestry, ecology, natural resources, environmental
sciences, or related fields.
- Prior field experience collecting fuels or vegetation data in
conifer forests of the Pacific Northwest, California, or Rocky Mountains
- Experience working collaboratively on projects
- Experience utilizing quantitative forestry, or ecological
- research methods
- Experience using GIS, statistical and/or qualitative analysis
- software (e.g. R, python, googleearth engine, ArcGIS)
- Strong field leadership skills and comfort leading a small field
Crew
- A demonstrated interest in fire and restoration concepts
*Funding* for the position covers tuition, stipend, and benefits for two
years of the MS program, including 1 quarter of teaching responsibilities
(1 TAship/year). Funding includes support for travel, field work, and
participation in scholarly activities such as conferences and workshops.
Funding also covers housing at Pringle Falls Experimental Forest during the
field season (June âÂEUR” August). This project is funded by the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, U.S. Forest Service Wildfire Crisis Strategy