The ASCCing the Experts podcast is an informational series that platforms natural resource professionals conducting applied research related to climate adaptation and ecosystem management across North America. Each episode features an expert interview, where guest(s) are asked critical questions about their ongoing work and its on-the-ground applications. We hope that giving voice to these individuals and their work will lead to more widespread understanding of the importance of climate adaptive management and improved ecological outcomes in North American ecosystems.
ASCCing the Experts
Claim This Podcastby Rylee McMillan
5 episodes
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Podcast Overview
The ASCCing the Experts podcast is an informational series that platforms natural resource professionals conducting applied research related to climate adaptation and ecosystem management across North America. Each episode features an expert interview, where guest(s) are asked critical questions about their ongoing work and its on-the-ground applications. We hope that giving voice to these individuals and their work will lead to more widespread understanding of the importance of climate adaptive management and improved ecological outcomes in North American ecosystems.
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Publishing Since
12/1/2025
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Recent Episodes
January 26, 2026
Episode 5: Interview with Courtney Peterson – Exploring Climate Adaptive Management
<p><strong>Overview</strong></p><p>This episode features an interview with Courtney Peterson, a climate adaptation specialist with NIACS, a research associate in the Forest and Rangeland Stewardship Department at Colorado State University, and the ASCC Network Program Manager. Courtney begins by sharing her experience in the field of natural resource, leading up to her current roles. She then goes on to define adaptive management and provides resources and frameworks—including the RRT and no-action framework used by the ASCC Network—for those wanting to get started with climate adaptive management. Afterwards, Courtney asserts her belief that scientists need to find ways to better tell the story of climate change, and she provides possible pathways for that improvement. Then, Courtney describes how some perceptions about climate adaptive management have shifted over time, especially regarding resistance and transition treatments. Finally, Courtney ends by sharing what keeps her inspired to continue her work and encourages interested listeners to consider getting started on their own climate adaption journey. </p><p>Check out these<strong> resources</strong> for information about topics discussed in this episode:</p><p><strong>Resources </strong></p><p>ASCC <a href="about%20page">about page</a>. </p><p>ASCC experimental <a href="https://adaptivesilviculture.org/experimental-design/">design page</a>. </p><p>NIACS <a href="https://niacs.org/about-niacs">home page</a>.</p><p><a href="https://forestadaptation.org/demos">https://forestadaptation.org/demos</a> The Adaptation Workbook publication (<a href="https://research.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/52760">Swanston et al., 2016</a>).</p><p>ASCCing the Experts <a href="https://adaptivesilviculture.org/ate-episode-1/">episode 1</a>.</p><p><a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.70005">Miller et al. (2025)</a> - Toward a Shared Vision for Climate Informed ResourceStewardship.</p><p><a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/06-1715.1">Millar et al. (2007)</a> - Climate Change and Forests of the Future: Managing in theFace of Uncertainty </p><p>DOI Climate Adaptation Science Centers <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/programs/climate-adaptation-science-centers">home page</a>.</p><p>USDA Climate Hubs <a href="https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/hubs/northern-forests/carbon-non-forested-wetlands-midwest-and-eastern-united-states-primer">home page</a>. </p><p>The RAD framework <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/programs/climate-adaptation-science-centers/science/resist-accept-direct-rad-framework">about page</a>. </p><p><a href="https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us/">Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2024</a>. The Great Lakes Silvicultural <a href="https://silvlib.cfans.umn.edu/">Library</a>. </p><p> </p><p><strong>Music Attribution </strong></p><p>The intro and outro music used in this podcast is from the <a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/cc-by-free-to-use-for-anything/harmony-4/">song Harmony by artist Ketsa</a>. The track used is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons License BY 4.0</a>.</p>
January 12, 2026
Episode 4: Interview with Dr. Martha Sample - Climate Change and EAB in the Upper Midwest
<p><strong>Overview</strong></p><p>This episode features an interview with Dr. Martha Sample, a Climate Adaptation Specialist with the University of Minnesota Department of Forest Resources and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (AKA NIACS). Martha starts by sharing her personal and professional journey in the field of natural resources, culminating with her current project related to northern lowland hardwood forests in the Upper Midwest. She describes these systems and the distinct ways in which climate change and emerald ash-borer are affecting them. Afterwards, Martha expands on the integral the role of managers, practitioners, and stewards in determining adaptation pathways for these forests, and provides some examples of actions already being implemented regionally. In closing, she shares how the idea of positive uncertainty brings her hope, and invites listeners interested or working in northern lowland hardwood forests to reach out via her email included in the show notes. </p><p>Check out these<strong> definitions</strong> and <strong>resources </strong>for information about topics discussed in this episode:</p><p><strong>Definitions</strong></p><p>According to an <a href="https://www.environmentandsociety.org/sites/default/files/key_docs/ge9_brown.pdf">author from the University of Pittsburgh</a>, The Great Cut over in the Upper Midwest was a period of intense for-profit logging that led to widespread landscapedegradation in the region, producing cutover lands. </p><p>According to the <a href="https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/dutch-elm-disease">University of Minnesota Extension</a>, Dutch elm disease is an invasive pathogen that is spread by elm beetles and causes wilting and death in elm species. </p><p><br></p><p><strong>Resources</strong></p><p>Martha Sample’s email address: msample@umn.edu </p><p>The ASCC Network <a href="https://adaptivesilviculture.org/about/">about page</a>. </p><p>The NIACS <a href="https://niacs.org/about-niacs">about page</a>.</p><p>The USDA APHIS <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-pests-diseases/eab/eab-infestation-map">EABmap</a> .</p><p>A USGS <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/data/upper-mississippi-river-system-changes-floodplain-inundation-1940-2022">data release</a> showing changes in inundation on the Upper Mississippi River.</p><p>The <a href="https://silvlib.cfans.umn.edu/">Great Lakes Silviculture Library</a>.</p><p>EPA <a href="https://www.epa.gov/great-lakes-funding/great-lakes-restoration-initiative-glri">information page</a> about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. </p><p><br></p><p><strong>Music Attribution </strong></p><p>The intro and outro music used in this podcast is fromthe <a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/cc-by-free-to-use-for-anything/harmony-4/">song Harmony by artist Ketsa</a>. The track used is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons License BY 4.0</a>.</p>
January 6, 2026
Episode 3 - Interview with Dr. Adrienne Keller - Understanding and Communicating about Forest Carbon
<p><strong>Overview</strong></p><p>This episode features an interview with Dr. Adrienne Keller, a terrestrial ecosystem ecologist and soil carbon scientist associated with Michigan Tech University and the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS). In this interview, Adrienne describes her work and interest in above and below ground forest carbon. She starts off by describing the miraculous world of mycorrhizal fungi leading into a discussion about forest soil carbon and carbon cycling. Adrienne also explains how she effectively communicates about forest carbon with managers, and shares insight about the value of place-based knowledge had by on-the-ground practitioners. She ends by mentioning some resources that listeners can use to boost their carbon confidence and competence, which are included in the show notes. Be sure to take a look at those, and the other resources below, and check back in in two weeks for the next episode! </p><p>Check out these<strong> definitions</strong> and <strong>resources </strong>for information about topics discussed in this episode:</p><p><strong>Definitions</strong></p><p>The <a href="https://www.fao.org/4/ac836e/AC836E03.htm" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">UN Food and Agriculture Organization</a> defines<strong> carbon pools </strong>as “reservoir[s] of carbon” and systems that have“ the capacity to accumulate or release carbon,” <strong>carbon sinks </strong>as “Any process or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere,” and <strong>carbon fluxes</strong> as the “transfer of carbon from one carbon pool to another in units of measurement of mass per unit area and time (e.g., t C ha -1 yr-1).”</p><p><strong>Carbon uptake (sequestration) </strong>is a “process by which plants take up atmospheric carbon dioxide and convert it to biomass (plant biomass is approximately 50% carbon).” It is a flux and is “commonly expressed as units of carbon sequestered from atmosphere into forest per year” (Keller, 2025, Forest Carbon 101 Presentation). </p><p><strong>Carbon emissions </strong>are “carbon that moves from the forest into the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse gas effect.” They are a flux and “part of the natural carbon cycle; humans have disrupted the carbon cycle primarily by moving fossil fuels into the active carbon cycle” (Keller, 2025, Forest Carbon 101 Presentation).</p><p><strong>Carbon storage </strong>is “carbon that is retained in a pool at a given time.” It is a stock and is “commonly expressed as units of carbon stored in a forest pool” (Keller, 2025, Forest Carbon 101 Presentation).</p><p>According to the <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/sustainability-and-climate/carbon" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">USDA Forest Service</a>, <strong>carbon Stewardship</strong> “consists of actions informed by carbon science that foster carbon uptake or storage in plants and soils or increase long-term carbon stability through land-use and vegetation management strategies.” Carbon stewardship has four main principles: timescale, stability, climate adaptation, and holistic management. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/plantmaterials/flpmcar13137.pdf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">US Natural Resource Conservation Service</a> describes <strong>mycorrhizal fungi</strong> as fungi that form a relationship with plants that supports plant and fungi growth.</p><p>According to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/71/5/531/6117972" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Alexander et al. (2021),</a> <strong>mesophication</strong> refers to the hypothesized process that that mesophytes—which are opportunistic plants that prefer wetter, shadier conditions—encourage wetter conditions through shade creation and water retention to proliferate their own growth, often resulting in altered species composition and fire exclusion in the areas they establish successfully. </p><p><strong>Resources</strong></p><p>Dr. Adrienne Keller’s website <a href="" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Adriennebkeller.com,</a></p><p>Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS) <a href="https://niacs.org/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">home page</a>.</p><p>The Newell and Ann Meyer Nature Preserve (site protected by the Nature Conservancy) <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/places-we-protect/newell-and-ann-meyer-nature-preserve/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">information page</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/19/7854" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Engaged Science Strategies, Opportunities and Benefits</a> by Dr. Adrienne Keller</p><p>Primers co-authored by Dr. Adrienne Keller: </p><ul><li><a href="https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Earthworms_CPrimer_05302024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Non-Native Invasive Earthworms in the Midwest and Eastern United States</a></li><li><a href="https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Fire_CPrimer_05302024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Effects</a>,<a href="https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Fire_CPrimer_05302024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">of Fire on Ecosystem Carbon in the Midwest and Eastern United States</a></li><li><a href="https://www.climatehubs.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Soils_CPrimer_05302024.pdf" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Soil Organic Carbon in Temperate Managed Ecosystem</a></li></ul><p><strong>Music Attribution</strong>The intro and outro music used in this podcast is from the <a href="https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/cc-by-free-to-use-for-anything/harmony-4/">song Harmony by artist Ketsa</a>. The track used is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">Creative Commons License BY 4.0</a>.</p>
5 total episodes available
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