Craig Allen with a burned jarrah tree. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
If anyone can make sense of current trends, and surmise future prospects for forest fires in northern New Mexico, it’s expert Craig Allen, who has been studying changes in the ecology of the Jemez Mountains continuously since 1982.
In a free presentation at the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, Allen will talk about changes in the forest, and what they mean for chances of fires in the future.
Extensive high-severity wildfires and drought-induced tree mortality have intensified over the last two decades in Southwestern U.S. forests and woodlands, on a scale unseen regionally since at least pre-1900. Allen will discuss the ecological effects and drivers of these landscape changes in his presentation, along with adaptation strategies to enhance ecosystem resilience in the context of climate trends.
Allen is a Research Ecologist at the Jemez Mountains Field Station. He has been studying changes in the ecology of the Jemez Mountains since 1982. Allen has authored more than 85 publications on landscape ecology and landscape change, from fire history and ecology to ecosystem responses to climate change. He has appeared on NOVA discussing fire ecology and on The Discovery Channel and Discovery Canada explaining the links between drought-induced tree mortality and climate warming, in addition to being interviewed and quoted in innumerable newspaper stories on both topics.
The program is free to attend, and no advance registration is required. For more information, visit www.PajaritoEEC.org, email Programs@PajaritoEEC.org or call 505.662.0460.
The Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) was founded in 2000 to serve the community of Los Alamos. It offers people of all ages a way to enrich their lives by strengthening their connections to our canyons, mesas, mountains, and skies. PEEC maintains a nature center, holds regular programs and events, and hosts a number of interest groups from birding to hiking to butterfly watching. PEEC activities are open to everyone; however members receive exclusive benefits such as discounts on programs and merchandise. Annual memberships start at $20. To learn more, visit https:////www.PajaritoEEC.org.
