What does it mean to be “natural”?

Today we’re welcoming forest ecologist Greg Aplet as we dive into one of the most common points of interest when it comes to the wilderness today: forest fires and how they impact spaces both wild and human. 

We talk with Greg about legislation and governmental actions, the costs and benefits of allowing fires to burn, the after-effects of the Smoky Bear campaign, and how we can further the conversation between everyone impacted by logging, forest fires, and the ecology of the wilderness.

Greg, Senior Science Director at The Wilderness Society, has spent decades thinking about how we live with fire—not just fight it. “The question isn’t whether fire is good or bad,” he tells us. “It’s whether we’re willing to accept that fire is part of the system—and plan accordingly.” From prescribed burns to rethinking our relationship with what is “natural,” this episode challenges assumptions and offers a deeper look at the messy, beautiful reality of forest ecosystems.

🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts or at thewildidea.com

Books, resources, and other notes from today’s episode:

• Fix Our Forests Act
• The Wilderness Act
• The RAD Framework
• Wilderness Connect
• The Wilderness Society
• Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute
• How Homes Ignite 
• Beyond Naturalness: Rethinking Park and Wilderness Stewardship in an Era of Rapid Change

• Smokey Bear

Gregory H. Aplet is a senior forest ecologist in The Wilderness Society’s Denver office. He received a B.S. in Forestry (1981) and an M.S. in Wildland Resource Science (1983) from the University of California, Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology (1987) from Colorado State University. He is the author of over one hundred publications on forest vegetation dynamics, the ecology of biological invasions, the conservation of biological diversity, wildland fire and wilderness management, collaborative conservation, and climate change adaptation.

Greg served on the collaborative group that drafted the 10-year Comprehensive Wildfire Strategy (2001-2008), the Ecological Society of America’s select committee that wrote Ecological Foundations for Fire Management in North American Forest and Shrubland Ecosystems (2005-2008), and was one of only two non-governmental members of the team that drafted the 2009 Guidance for Implementation of Federal Wildland Fire Policy (2007-2009).

Connect with Greg at The Wilderness Society.

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