News

Read the latest news from IROCE programs, centers, and faculty and staff. 

Ancient trees are dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon
A study in the Malheur National Forest led by James Johnston, assistant research professor in the Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments, shows a rapid tree die-off in…
A look at megafires as an Oregon wildfire approaches the 100,000-acre mark
“Large fires are, by definition, fires that are driven by extreme weather conditions like really high temperatures, low relative humidity and strong winds,” said James Johnston, assistant research…
Wildfires and smoke pose cascading hazards for US communities
UO faculty, including Heidi Huber-Stearns and James Johnston of IROCE, discuss the challenge of reducing wildfire risk and helping protect the public.
Study reveals deadly threat to Oregon's 300-year-old trees
New research from the University of Oregon suggests that old growth trees are drying at an alarming rate in eastern Oregon.
Eastern Oregon’s old-growth trees are dying at ‘alarming’ rates, UO finds
A new study led by James Johnston, an assistant research professor for the University of Oregon, found that about 25% of trees over 300 years old died in the Malheur National Forest from 2012 to 2023.
Eastern Oregon's ancient trees face alarming decline, study finds
The study, conducted by a team led by James Johnston, an assistant research professor at the University of Oregon, found that between 2012 and 2023, a quarter of trees over 300 years old in roadless…
Significant mortality of old trees across a dry forest landscape, Oregon, USA
Assistant research professor James Johnston led research that discovered very significant decline in old-growth trees in the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon.
The Trump administration claims roads in forests prevent wildfires. Researchers disagree.
James Johnston, an assistant research professor at the University of Oregon’s Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments, said the Forest Service lacks the personnel and…
Trump admin plans to rescind ‘roadless rule.’ Here’s what that means for millions of acres of forest across Utah.
A 2021 study found no difference in severity of wildfires across roadless and roaded national forest lands in the West. That research team did find, though, that roadless national forest areas…
University of Oregon wildfire experts worry what a lack of federal resources could mean for upcoming season
Heidi Huber-Stearns, Director of the Center for Wildfire Smoke Research and Practice and James Johnston, an Assistant Research Professor in Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and…