Fire, Forests, and the Future of the Jemez

Wildfire has long been part of life in the Jemez Mountains, shaping forests and the people who call this landscape home. In this engaging talk, renowned fire historian and dendrochronologist Thomas W. Swetnam—Regents Professor and Director Emeritus of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona—shares what centuries of tree-ring and soil-core research reveal about the region’s fire history. Swetnam will explore how wildfire patterns and forest conditions have changed over time, while also highlighting the long relationship between forests and the Hemish and other cultures who have lived in the area. Their history of living sustainably within these forests offers powerful lessons for today, as communities and land managers work to restore healthier forests and prepare for a future with fire.

The event presented in partnership with the J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Committee (JROMC).

About the Presenter:

Tom Swetnam is Regents Professor and Director Emeritus, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona. Tom received his undergraduate degree at the University of New Mexico (BS) and graduate degrees at the University of Arizona (MS & PhD). Tom has studied human land-uses, climate history, and forest fire ecology in the western U.S., Mexico, South America, and Siberia, Russia. He has testified to the U.S. Congress on multiple occasions; he was appointed by the Governor of Arizona to two advisory boards and by the President of the U.S. to the first Board of Trustees of the Valles Caldera National Preserve. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and he received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Tree-Ring Society and the Association for Fire Ecology. Tom currently resides in Jemez Springs, New Mexico, where he and his wife Suzanne enjoy a busy retirement life of gardening, community volunteering, and tree-ring dating of historic buildings, archaeological timbers, and fire scars.

His recent book, published in 2025 by the University of New Mexico Press is titled: The Jemez Mountains, A Cultural and Natural History.

Admission: Free!

Personal Web page: https://www.treeringscar.org/
Jemez Valley History blog: https://jemezvalleyhistory.org/?author=57
Blusky: @firescar.bsky.social