Our report/publication on forest carbon credits was featured on PBS News Hour!!!

On Friday, PBS NewsHour aired a segment on forest carbon credits focused on the American Forest Foundation Family Forest Carbon Program. The segment included interviews with Rebecca Sanders-DeMott discussing a report and peer-review publication on forest carbon protocols and credits that I co-authored.

This publication and report were part of an invited workshop in Boston hosted by the non-profit Clean Air Task Force, which ultimately helped reinforce the message that high-quality carbon credits are critical.

You can watch the 15 min PBS NewsHour segment here: https://youtu.be/A8qkohvRDSA?t=2051&si=pqgFC_PxLP1KQRjm 

New paper published in J. of Environmental Management by Clearwater!

Hutchinson, J.T., Clearwater, T, Kent, J, Kapoor, V, Dessouky, S. 2026. Spontaneous vegetation diversity in managed stormwater swales and detention basins in the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone of Central Texas, Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 406: 129841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.129841

Swales and detention basins represent novel engineered ecosystems dominated by ruderal plants tolerant of inundation, drought, and extreme heat. In this study, we documented the plant species coverage and biomass in swales and detention basins. In total, we documented 115 plant species (89 native and 26 non-native) in the swales, and 94 plant species (68 native and 26 non-native) in detention basins. Spontaneous plant communities in swales and detention basins are distinct, sharing only a 33% similarity. Swales exhibited higher mean species richness (ranging from 8.6 to 11.0) and higher mean vegetation cover (58 to 129%) compared to detention basins. Dry above-ground biomass was higher in swales, largely driven by graminoids. Although initial planting in newly constructed swales and detention basins should utilize native grasses, allowing spontaneous native vegetation to establish following planting is recommended. These species form resilient novel ecosystems that are inherently adapted to environmental changes.

New paper in Fire Ecology by PD Kaili Brande!

Brande, K., Davis, F.W. & Kendall, B.E. Bark traits and fire vulnerability in three California foothill oak species. fire ecol 22, 43 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s42408-026-00488-2

Conclusion

Bark traits and growth patterns can confer fire adaptation in tree species. Q. agrifolia showed stronger evidence of fire-adapted bark traits than Q. douglasii or Q. lobata. More work is needed to develop reliable general models relating time to trunk tissue kill to bark traits for oaks in fire-prone ecosystems.

Extreme Wildfire Workshop in Boulder

James, Melissa and Rob Scheller (NCSU) led an ESIIL-funded workshop in Boulder focused on modeling extreme wildfire with LANDIS-II We invited seven researchers from OR (Clearwater), NM (Zach Robbins, Adam Atchley, Matt Hurteau), NY (Sam Flake), WI (Brian Sturtevant, and CA (Alex Syphard). Pictures from our workshop, followed pics from our fun adventures in Boulder- walking around Boulder and the Denver Art Museum. Thanks ESIIL!!!