Dr. Andrew (Andy) L. Vander Yacht is an Assistant Professor of Silviculture & Forest Ecosystem Management in the Department of Sustainable Resources Management at SUNY ESF. He teaches silviculture, fire ecology and management, and forest management for wildlife. Broadly, he seeks to: 1) understand how disturbance, particularly fire, affects the structure, composition, health, and resiliency of temperate forested ecosystems, and 2) how this knowledge can inform modern forest management. Specifically, he works to advance silvicultural practices in NY and beyond as he explores historical disturbances in forests, plant-soil-fire feedbacks, forest carbon management, fuel ecology, pyric herbivory, the restoration of disturbance-dependent biodiversity, and fire effects on ticks and tick-borne disease. Before SUNY ESF, Andy earned a B.S. in Biology at Hope College (Holland, MI) and M.S. (Wildlife Science) and Ph.D. (Natural Resources) degrees from The University of Tennessee.