Sarah Aldinger, 2015

Thesis:

Rural Resilience: Local Agriculture and Adaptations to Cycles of Change in Hayfork, California

Amanda C. Cannon, 2006

Thesis:

Giving Voice to Juana Maria's People: The Organization of Shelland Exotic Stone Artifact Production and Trade at a Late Holocene

Megan Joyce,

Thesis:

Fuel dynamics and fire effects following restoration thinning treatments in secondary redwood forests

I earned a B.S. in environmental forest biology with a minor in forestry from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY. After earning my undergraduate degree, I worked as a forester and timber cruiser in the private timber industry throughout the redwood region of northern California. My master's thesis focuses on wildfire effects and surface fuel dynamics following restoration thinning treatments in secondary coast redwood forests (Sequoia sempervirens). My research examines fire effects following the 2023 Lost Fire in Redwood National Park, using long-term monitoring plots to compare tree mortality, redwood regeneration, and surface fuels across various silvicultural treatments. I am also investigating live and dead surface fuels at Headwaters Forest Reserve using a chronosequence approach to assess long-term changes following thinning treatments. This work will help to inform management decisions to increase forest resistance and resilience to wildfire in coastal redwood forests under changing climate conditions.

Katy Lira

BA/MA Student Assistant

Olivia Moskowitz,

Thesis:

Factors determining fire refugia for a rare, serotinous conifer, Baker cypress

For my master’s thesis, I’m studying Baker cypress (Hesperocyparis bakeri), a rare fire-adapted conifer native to northern California and southern Oregon. My research focuses on identifying patterns in fire refugia—areas that remain unburned or minimally affected by wildfire where mature trees persist—and determining the conditions that support successful planted seedling establishment. The goal is to inform conservation and restoration strategies for this species in the context of shifting fire regimes and climate change. This work reflects my broader interest in applied research for managing fire-prone ecosystems and supporting post-fire restoration. I have a BS in Environmental Science from the University of Washington and have a decade of experience in forest ecology, management, and restoration across the western U.S., working with public, private, and academic institutions.