Reframing the Ecology of Fire in Eastern United States 'Old Growth' Forest Ecosystems

PANEL DISCUSSION: Thursday, February 19, 2026 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM EST

Join us for this discussion exploring the complex relationship between fire and ‘old growth’ forests in the eastern United States. This event will bring together researchers and land managers to share diverse perspectives and experiences related to the fire ecology, history, and management practices of old/mature forests in the region.

Panelists will critically examine the role of fire—past, present, and future—in shaping eastern United States mature and old-growth forest ecosystems. Key questions may include (add your own!):

Are current definitions and models of eastern ‘old growth’ forests outdated?
Can ‘old-growth’ communities develop under frequent, low-severity fire regimes?
What challenges and considerations arise when reintroducing prescribed fire to long fire-excluded forests with very old trees?

Participants are encouraged to submit their own questions prior to the session (during the registration process) to help guide this discussion on the evolving narrative of fire management in old and maturing forests in the East.

This panel discussion has been approved for 1.5 Category 1 CFE's by the Society of American Foresters.

Joe Marschall (Moderator)
Joe Marschall is a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Tree-Ring Science at the University of Missouri, and serves as coordinator for the Oak Woodland & Forests Fire Consortium. He has participated in tree-ring based fire history and other fire effects research across much of the eastern U.S. for more than 20+ years, and is especially interested in research which informs the conservation and management of eastern fire-adapted ecosystems.

Dr. Ryan DeSantis (Panelist)
Ryan DeSantis earned his Bachelors in Forestry from the University of New Hampshire, Masters in Ecology from Michigan Technological University and PhD in Natural Resource Ecology and Management from Oklahoma State University. Ryan has worked on fire and fuels crews for the US Forest Service and National Park Service, as a postdoctoral research associate with the US Forest Service, as an Extension forester for University of California Cooperative Extension, as a forest health specialist for the State of Wyoming, and as an instructor of forestry for Itasca Community College. Currently he is an assistant professor of forest ecology and management at Oklahoma State University.

Jimmy Dodson (Panelist)
Jimmy has been with NC State Parks since 2013 where he has served as a Regional Biologist, the statewide Restoration Specialist, Head of Natural Resources, and currently as the Biologist Program manager within the section. He and the staff focus on: fire ecology & implementation, the management & ecology of significant species and natural communities, invasive species, hydrology, and consultation for public use on more than 265,000 acres within the North Carolina State Park system. He is an AFE Certified Fire Ecologist, a TWS Certified Wildlife Biologist, and a NC Registered Forester.

Dr. Lauren Pile Knapp (Panelist)
Dr. Lauren Pile Knapp is a Research Ecologist and Project Leader with the USDA Forest Service - Northern Research Station located in Columbia, Missouri. Her research focuses on using silvicultural or vegetation management approaches to solve emerging ecological issues to natural resources including plant invasion and disturbance.

Dr. William Flatley (Panelist)
Dr. William Flatley is an Associate Professor of Geography at the University of Central Arkansas and an adjunct professor in the School of Forestry at Northern Arizona University. He is a biogeographer with research interests in forest ecology, wildfire, and historical ecology. His research incorporates tree rings, geospatial analysis, and landscape simulation modeling and he has conducted research in old growth ecosystems of the Ouachita Mountains, Ozark Plateau, and Appalachian Mountains. He teaches classes in Earth System Science, Biogeography, Natural Hazards and Soils.

Our Panel

List of Resources Shared During the Discussion:

Flatley, W. T., L. M. Bragg, and D. C. Bragg. 2023. Dynamic Fire Regimes and Forest Conditions Across Three Centuries in a Shortleaf Pine-Oak Forest in the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas, USA. Annals of the American Association of Geographers 113:1365-1382.
Flatley, W. T., C. W. Lafon, H. D. Grissino-Mayer, and L. B. LaForest. 2015. Changing fire regimes and old-growth forest succession along a topographic gradient in the Great Smoky Mountains. Forest Ecology and Management 350:96-106.
Flatley, W. T., C. W. Lafon, H. D. Grissino-Mayer, and L. B. LaForest. 2013. Fire history, related to climate and land use in three southern Appalachian landscapes in the eastern United States. Ecological Applications 23:1250-1266.
Mature and Old-Growth Forests: Definition, Identification, and Initial Inventory on Lands Managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. FS-1215a. Revised April 2024.
Joshi, O.; Will, R.E.; Zou, C.B.; Kharel, G. Sustaining Cross-Timbers Forest Resources: Current Knowledge and Future Research Needs. Sustainability 2019, 11, 4703.
Oklahoma fire modeling OSU Extension fact sheet.
Eastern Redcedar and Climate Change in Oklahoma’s Cross Timbers Forests (OSU Extension).
An Old-Growth Definition for Southern Mixed Hardwood Forests. GTR SRS-9. William B. Batista and William J. Platt
An Old-Growth Definition for Western Juniper Woodlands: Texas Ashe Juniper Dominated or Codominated Communities. GTR SRS-15. David D. Diamond
An Old-Growth Definition for Xeric Pine and Pine-Oak Woodlands. GTR SRS-7. Paul A. Murphy and Gregory J. Nowacki
An Old-Growth Definition for Western and Mixed Mesophytic Forests. GTR SRS-16. Cathryn H. Greenberg, Douglas E. McLeod, and David L. Loftis
An Old-Growth Definition for Western Hardwood Gallery Forests. GTR SRS-22. Kelly Kindscher and Jenny Holah
An Old-Growth Definition for Dry and Dry-Mesic Oak-Pine Forests. GTR SRS-23. David L. White and F. Thomas Lloyd
Jacob Fraser webinar on old-growth and fire in the eastern US.
Pesklevits A, Duinker PN, Bush PG. Old-growth Forests: Anatomy of a Wicked Problem. Forests. 2011; 2(1):343-356.
Fraser, Jacob S.; Pile Knapp, Lauren S.; Graham, Brad; Jenkins, Michael A.; Kabrick, John; Saunders, Michael; Spetich, Martin; Shifley, Steve. 2023. Carbon dynamics in old-growth forests of the Central Hardwoods Region, USA. Forest Ecology and Management. 537: 120958. 14 p.
Fire History of the Appalachian Region. GTR SRS-219.
The Fire Manager's Guide to Blue Ridge Ecozones. J. Adam Warwick
The Ecology and Silviculture of Oaks. Paul S. Johnson, Stephen R. Shifley, and Robert Rogers