The University of New Mexico continued it’s scheduled events for Teach Week with a seminar titled Fire Management and Forest Ecology in an Era of Climate Change Denial.
For the event, organizer and UNM professor Bill Fleming arranged for alum Nathan Campbell, a member of the Forest Service, to speak on natural resource planning and effects of climate change.
The seminar happened to be part of the environmental planning course with one of the topics being forest health and water ship health, Fleming said.
Fleming asked Campbell to speak as he is a graduate of the program with a master’s in environmental planning from UNM, he said.
“He is very involved in moving off of the carbon system and on to renewable energy,” Fleming said.
The seminar included presentation that showed the work of fire prevention, as well as the effect fire prevention has on New Mexico.
The seminar also showed the video “Heart of a Firefighter,” which captured the work done by the fire department and forest service in controlled burning.
During the video, Campbell explained the various methods of controlled burning and impact the work had on the environment.
Campbell answered questions from those attending, from topics on how climate change affects fire behavior to the work the forest service does with small communities.
Campbell also discussed how the current hiring freeze effects the forest service.
Members of the group brought up concerns with the current presidential administration's stance on climate change, which varied from the idea that political systems are ideas that can change to beliefs that the Trump administration is busy redirecting attention rather than focusing on current problems with climate change.
After minoring in sustainability, Campbell agreed to return as a guest speaker to share his experiences looking at climate change, firsthand on the frontline and by sharing videos as well as his personal experiences, he said.
The difficulties in getting into public agencies in general is why, after receiving his master's degree, Campbell began his career in a lookout tower before progressing to where he is today, he said.
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His advice to students is to take “little steps one by one, get in where you can to make a difference and go from there,” he said.
If there was one aspect Fleming would like those who attended to take away from the seminar it was an emphasis on local community involvement in environmental restoration work, he said.
Brandon Ortiz, an architecture and sustainability minor, said he earned a lot from the seminar and speaker.
“I think it was great to see sort of the different levels of perspectives that exist within something as seemingly simple as firefighting,” said Ortiz.
Nichole Harwood is a news reporter at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Nolidoli1.
