Steve Bunting Earns Fire Ecology Lifetime Achievement Award
By Sue McMurray
Steve Bunting, CNR professor of fire and rangeland ecology and management, is intrigued by what many of us would ignore while walking across rangeland - dead grass, dry leaves, random piles of sticks and logs. Alone, these images don’t do much to spark anyone’s interest. But once ignited by lightning or by some other means, the mundane turns into fuel for potentially catastrophic wildfires that may burn across valuable agricultural lands as well as prime habitat.
For the last 33 years, Bunting has been a recognized leader in fire ecology and prescribed fire planning and execution in canyon grassland, sagebrush steppe and juniper woodland ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest and northern Great Basin.
He recently received the Association of Fire Ecology’s Harold Biswell Award recognizing his significant contributions to fire ecology and management in the U.S., his mentorship of a generation of fire ecologists, and his outstanding research, teaching and outreach.
“Steve has several long-term projects that not only bring distinction to the University of Idaho as a land grant university, but benefit people and the land across Idaho and the Interior West,” says Kurt Pregitzer, College of Natural Resources dean. “For the last 14 years, Steve has studied the influence of fire on the sagebrush-juniper landscapes on the Owyhee Plateau in southwestern Idaho. Steve’s results are helping Owyhee land managers make informed decisions about prescribed burning and grazing programs.”
He routinely teaches to practicing professionals in the state, region and across the west on fire and rangeland ecology topics. They often seek his expertise in prescribed fire, the effects of wildfires and implications for management before and after fires. He has published more dozens of articles in refereed journals and has numerous other professional publications.
Bunting holds several honors and awards, including the Heady Professorship from 1997-2002, a University of Idaho award recognizing rangeland ecological research activity. Bunting has twice been honored with the University of Idaho Alumni Association Award for Excellence recognizing achievement in graduate and undergraduate student mentoring. His many graduate students are now leaders in the U.S. as well as in other countries.
Additionally, Bunting is a highly recognized professional within the Society for Range Management, earning some of the society’s top honors, including the 1986 Society for Range Management W.R. Chapline Research Award and the 2000 Society for Range Management Idaho Section Outstanding Achievement Award.
Steve Bunting, CNR professor of fire and rangeland ecology and management, is intrigued by what many of us would ignore while walking across rangeland - dead grass, dry leaves, random piles of sticks and logs. Alone, these images don’t do much to spark anyone’s interest. But once ignited by lightning or by some other means, the mundane turns into fuel for potentially catastrophic wildfires that may burn across valuable agricultural lands as well as prime habitat.
For the last 33 years, Bunting has been a recognized leader in fire ecology and prescribed fire planning and execution in canyon grassland, sagebrush steppe and juniper woodland ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest and northern Great Basin.
He recently received the Association of Fire Ecology’s Harold Biswell Award recognizing his significant contributions to fire ecology and management in the U.S., his mentorship of a generation of fire ecologists, and his outstanding research, teaching and outreach.
“Steve has several long-term projects that not only bring distinction to the University of Idaho as a land grant university, but benefit people and the land across Idaho and the Interior West,” says Kurt Pregitzer, College of Natural Resources dean. “For the last 14 years, Steve has studied the influence of fire on the sagebrush-juniper landscapes on the Owyhee Plateau in southwestern Idaho. Steve’s results are helping Owyhee land managers make informed decisions about prescribed burning and grazing programs.”
He routinely teaches to practicing professionals in the state, region and across the west on fire and rangeland ecology topics. They often seek his expertise in prescribed fire, the effects of wildfires and implications for management before and after fires. He has published more dozens of articles in refereed journals and has numerous other professional publications.
Bunting holds several honors and awards, including the Heady Professorship from 1997-2002, a University of Idaho award recognizing rangeland ecological research activity. Bunting has twice been honored with the University of Idaho Alumni Association Award for Excellence recognizing achievement in graduate and undergraduate student mentoring. His many graduate students are now leaders in the U.S. as well as in other countries.
Additionally, Bunting is a highly recognized professional within the Society for Range Management, earning some of the society’s top honors, including the 1986 Society for Range Management W.R. Chapline Research Award and the 2000 Society for Range Management Idaho Section Outstanding Achievement Award.
