ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE
ESF trains next generation of fire ecologists
Students from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) chose to spend spring break in Georgia, engaging in prescribed burns — a forestry management practice that involves intentionally setting fires to promote forest health, support wildlife biodiversity, and increase resilience to future wildfires.
Led by graduate students Maria Loughran and Anna Welch, members of the Applied Forest and Fire Ecology Lab under Dr. Andrew Vander-Yacht, the six undergraduate students gained hands-on experience in fire operations and the fire ecology of the southeastern United States.
With more than 10 years of combined experience in prescribed and wildland fire, Loughran and Welch taught the students about fire operations and the expectations of working as part of a fire crew earlier in the spring semester. The students previously obtained certification as basic wildland firefighters through Vander-Yacht’s Fire Ecology and Management class on ESF’s main campus or at the College’s Ranger School in Wanakena, N.Y. As part of this certification, they completed a challenging pack test — walking three miles with 45 pounds in 45 minutes — to ensure their physical capacity to operate safely as wildland firefighters.
The ESF fire crew was hosted by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and coordinated with the Georgia Forestry Commission and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources through the Interagency Burn Team. Over three days, they burned a total of 323 acres, primarily in mixed pine grasslands, to facilitate the restoration of longleaf and shortleaf pine.
“Many ecosystems of the southeastern United States are fire-dependent and benefit greatly from regular burning,” said Welch.
“These burns help reduce understory fuels, encourage pine regeneration, and promote herbaceous diversity, benefiting fire-dependent ecosystems in the southeast,” said Loughran.
The students took…
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Understanding Climate Data
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Soldiers assigned to the 172nd Chemical Company and the 21st Chemical Company removed hazardous waste from sites where homes once stood in Southern California as part of the wildfire response mission
By Sandy Di Angelis / Associate WriterU.S. Army Chemical Corps Soldiers recently worked with joint and interagency partners to support the wildfire response mission in Southern California, Feb. 12-17, 2025.
Highly trained Soldiers from the 172nd Chemical Company (Hazard Response) and the 21st Chemical Company (Hazard Response) joined together with Sailors, Marines and Airmen under the command of U.S. Northern Command’s Joint Task Force-Civil Support to remove hazardous waste from debris ridden homesites in California.
The Fort Riley, Kansas-based 172nd Chemical Company (Hazard Response) “Gladiators” are part of the 2nd Chemical Battalion and the Fort Bragg, North Carolina-based 21st Chemical Company (Hazard Response) “Blackjacks” are part of the 83rd Chemical Battalion. Both units are part of the 48th Chemical Brigade, under the Army’s 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives Command — the U.S. military’s premier multifunctional and deployable CBRNE formation.
Capt. Addison M. Love, the commander of the 172nd Chemical Company (Hazard Response), said the Soldiers were selected for the mission based on their readiness.
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“Soldiers were selected due to their unique CBRN certifications and high level of readiness, and each Soldier was certified at the hazardous materials operations Level and hazardous materials technician level and had extensive field training in hazardous waste packaging and removal,” he said.
Love said the Soldiers worked 12-hour days in the Pacific…
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