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James Agee

James K. Agee is a forest ecologist at the University of Washington who has specialized in fire ecology and the challenges of restoring fire to western ecosystems. He has a Ph.D. in Wildland Resource Science from the University of California, Berkeley (1973) and worked as a forest ecologist for the National Park Service in San Francisco (1974-78) and as Biology Program Leader for its Cooperative Park Studies Unit at the University of Washington, Seattle (1978-88). In 1988, he became Chair of the Forest Resources Management Division, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, and continues there as Professor of Forest Ecology.

He has served as a trustee for The Nature Conservancy, Chair of the Washington Natural Heritage Council, Keep Washington Green, and has served on the Oregon Science Team on Eastside Forest Restoration, the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Sustainability and Future of Non-Federal Forests, member of the second Committee of Scientists evaluating planning regulations for the National Forest Management Act, the University of California Committee on Cumulative Effects of Timber Harvest, and on the Skagit Environmental Endowment Commission. He has served as associate editor for Northwest Science and Ecological Applications. In 1998, he was awarded Outstanding Scientist by the Northwest Scientific Association.

Dr. Agee is widely known for his work in forest and fire ecology. He has over 175 publications, including 1993’s Fire Ecology of Pacific Northwest Forests (Island Press). His current projects include effects of thinning and prescribed fire in eastern Washington forests, landscape effects of fuel treatments, effects of seasonal burning on ponderosa pine, and remote sensing applications for crown fire characteristics.