A Beautifully Burned Forest

Richard L. Hutto is Professor Emeritus in Biological Sciences and Wildlife Biology at the University of Montana.  After joining the faculty in 1977, he taught courses in animal ecology, fire ecology, Montana wildlife, and ornithology across a nearly 40-year career.  His early research dealt primarily with the ecology of migratory landbirds throughout the West—in Mexico in winter, the Southwest during spring and fall, and the Northern Rockies in summer.  In 1990, he developed the USFS Northern Region Landbird Monitoring Program to generate data on bird distribution patterns so that we might better understand the ecological effects of various land-use practices. To promote informed decisions through use of those bird data, Hutto also established the Avian Science Center on the University of Montana campus in 2004. Following the Yellowstone fires of 1988, his research focus shifted toward the ecology of birds in burned forests—an interest he maintains to this day.  Dr. Hutto also hosted a nationally televised PBS series called “Birdwatch,” which ran from 1998-2001.