In this moment of contraction, Nelson argues that we should shift our priorities: away from trying to preserve every project and toward stewarding the knowledge we already have, investing in data synthesis and curation, and actively supporting the next generation of scientists.

Researchers studied the impact of experimentally reduced streamflow and increased temperature on fish and salamander. Results suggest that future shifts in community dynamics may favor trout under warmer conditions and salamanders under drier ones.

“People say, ‘Oh the forest was lost.’ It’s not lost. It’s changed,” said Mark Harmon, a forest decomposition expert and professor emeritus at Oregon State University. Half of his research plots at the Andrews burned. The experiment may now be more exciting than ever. There is so much to be learned, Harmon said, “as long as you throw out everything you think you knew about fire.”

A combination of conceptual frameworks and analysis of long-term "hydrochemograph" data reveals how disturbances upset the balance of already resource-limited water systems. 

Following the 2023 Lookout Fire, OSU graduate students share their initial grief, their postfire research, and how they stay resilient as they pursue scientific careers in a time of planetary crisis.