crisscrossing Science Episode 054: Up in Smoke

In this episode, Mike Crosser (professor physics at Linfield College) and Chad Tillberg (professor of biology at Linfield College) invite Dr. Bill Fleeger (visiting senior scholar of environmental studies at Linfield College) into the studio to discuss policies for forest fires. At one time, the policy of the U.S. Forest Service was to extinguish all fires as soon as they start. However, that policy allowed fuel to build on forest floors, which eventually led to bigger, more frequent, and more expensive-to-manage forest fires. Fleeger talks with Crosser and Tillberg about how these ideas are starting to change.