I am the 1855 Professor of Indigenous and Tribal Natural Resource Management in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University. I use the information and stories encoded within the annual rings of trees to help reconstruct past environments including disturbance dynamics and climate variability. I have been engaged in a broader collaborative effort to better understand Great Lakes fire regimes and the role of cultural fire to steward landscapes. Together we have developed a network of fire history sites across the Upper Great Lakes that have helped to tell the story of important relationships between people, pine, and fire.

TSN Conference 2026

January 23rd, 2026 (Friday) // 11:20 am – 12:20 pm // Red Cedar Room // Setting the Straits on Fire – Part II // Through a cooperative agreement with the USFWS, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (LTBB), MNFI, & MSU Department of Forestry are reconstructing fire histories in culturally significant sites in MI’s Straits Region. Last year our team provided a broad overview of our research. This year we will prove that sequels can be as compelling as the original. After a full field season of dendrochronological sampling, we will dig into the results for forests with unique fire histories in Waganakising, LTBB’s homeland. Mae Wright, LTBB’s Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, will join us & provide an overview of the cultural context of the study area & interpretation of the results based on oral histories & archival research. Through collaborative sampling we are increasing literacy about cultural burning, fire ecology, & dendrochronology with the goal of returning Good Fire to the Straits to increase landscape resilience, ecological integrity, co-management, & cultural heritage.