The SaddleBrooke Hiking Club welcomed Dr. Molly Hunter as the featured speaker at its monthly meeting and program on Wednesday, February 19. Her presentation, titled “The Changing Role of Fire in Arizona Ecosystems” was intended to help hikers understand the ecology and impacts of fire in ecosystems throughout Arizona and what land managers can do to mitigate the impacts of fire to ecosystem and communities.
Dr. Hunter is the primary science advisor for the Joint Fire Science Program, a partnership among U.S. Forest Service and Department of Interior that funds scientific studies to inform wildland fire management.
Dr. Hunter also serves as a Public Information Officer, supporting wildfire incidents in Arizona in cooperation with the Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management. You may have seen her on local media during the 2020 Bighorn Fire.
Previously, Dr. Hunter held faculty appointments in the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University and the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at University of Arizona. At both institutions, she developed and taught a variety of courses pertaining to fire and forest science and management, maintained a research program in fire ecology and management and co-founded the Southwest Fire Science Consortium.
Dr. Hunter has a PhD in Forest Science from Colorado State University and a BS in Plant Biology from the University of California at Davis.
Hiking Club presentations are held most months on the third Wednesday of the month in the SaddleBrooke 1 Activity Center at 4 p.m. At these events, club members and other SaddleBrooke residents are welcome to attend.
