Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
@zacksteel.bsky.social
Research Ecologist | Colorado | wildlife & forest conservation, disturbance, landscape ecology | my views
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Happy Birthday to the US Forest Service:
“In the administration of the forest reserves it must be clearly borne in mind that all land is to be devoted to its most productive use for the permanent good of the whole people, and not for the temporary benefit of individuals or companies.”
“In the administration of the forest reserves it must be clearly borne in mind that all land is to be devoted to its most productive use for the permanent good of the whole people, and not for the temporary benefit of individuals or companies.”
Wilson Letter - Forest History Society
On February 1, 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the act (33 Stat. 628) which transferred the management of the Forest Reserves from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agricul...
foresthistory.org
February 2, 2026 at 1:06 PM
Happy Birthday to the US Forest Service:
“In the administration of the forest reserves it must be clearly borne in mind that all land is to be devoted to its most productive use for the permanent good of the whole people, and not for the temporary benefit of individuals or companies.”
“In the administration of the forest reserves it must be clearly borne in mind that all land is to be devoted to its most productive use for the permanent good of the whole people, and not for the temporary benefit of individuals or companies.”
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
OK, as we go into February, I'm officially worried about our snowpack numbers across the Western US. Less snow means dryer soils and fuels heading into the summer and I don't like fire years where the high country comes online early.
January 30, 2026 at 3:32 PM
OK, as we go into February, I'm officially worried about our snowpack numbers across the Western US. Less snow means dryer soils and fuels heading into the summer and I don't like fire years where the high country comes online early.
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University.
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/
Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.
Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/
Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.
Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky
January 28, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University.
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/
Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.
Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/
Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.
Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
How many STEM Ph.D.s were lost from the U.S. federal government last year?
My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive.
www.science.org/content/arti...
My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive.
www.science.org/content/arti...
January 26, 2026 at 11:39 PM
How many STEM Ph.D.s were lost from the U.S. federal government last year?
My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive.
www.science.org/content/arti...
My colleagues @mghersher.bsky.social and @policyhound.bsky.social dug into a recent data release to find the answer. A @science.org exclusive.
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
It’s Penguin Awareness Day which seems like a great excuse to post the greatest ever Wikipedia edit.
January 20, 2026 at 9:37 AM
It’s Penguin Awareness Day which seems like a great excuse to post the greatest ever Wikipedia edit.
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
rspatialdata: a repository of spatial datasets & tutorials for spatial analysis & visualization in #rstats, supporting real-world applications such as estimating air pollution, quantifying disease burden, and monitoring progress toward the SDGs🌍💻📊
👉 rspatialdata.github.io
👉 rspatialdata.github.io
January 18, 2026 at 3:19 PM
rspatialdata: a repository of spatial datasets & tutorials for spatial analysis & visualization in #rstats, supporting real-world applications such as estimating air pollution, quantifying disease burden, and monitoring progress toward the SDGs🌍💻📊
👉 rspatialdata.github.io
👉 rspatialdata.github.io
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Fast-moving & destructive wildfires--some burning into populated areas in/beyond the urban interface--have occurred across many of the Southern Hemisphere's fire prone regions (including Chile & Argentina, South Africa, & SE Australia) over last 3 weeks.
Chilean president declares state of catastrophe as wildfires kill at least 18
Fires blaze through 8,500 hectares, forcing 50,000 people to evacuate as firefighters struggle to extinguish flames
www.theguardian.com
January 18, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Fast-moving & destructive wildfires--some burning into populated areas in/beyond the urban interface--have occurred across many of the Southern Hemisphere's fire prone regions (including Chile & Argentina, South Africa, & SE Australia) over last 3 weeks.
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Come work with us in beautiful Santa Barbara!
Please repost! The LOC Lab @UCSB is recruiting a #PostdoctoralScholar in forest ecology and data science to
develop data-driven models of forest resilience to compound disturbances (e.g., fire, drought, insects). 🌱🍁🌏🧪🌐
Applications due Feb 5
Apply here: www.landscapesofchangelab.com/were-hiring-1
develop data-driven models of forest resilience to compound disturbances (e.g., fire, drought, insects). 🌱🍁🌏🧪🌐
Applications due Feb 5
Apply here: www.landscapesofchangelab.com/were-hiring-1
January 14, 2026 at 4:47 PM
Come work with us in beautiful Santa Barbara!
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
As the climate data for 2025 continues to be released, it's time to update various data visualisations.
First - the global climate stripes for 1850-2025. A third darkest red stripe is added.
The last 11 years have been the warmest 11 years on record. A sequence that is unlikely to be broken soon.
First - the global climate stripes for 1850-2025. A third darkest red stripe is added.
The last 11 years have been the warmest 11 years on record. A sequence that is unlikely to be broken soon.
January 14, 2026 at 11:02 AM
As the climate data for 2025 continues to be released, it's time to update various data visualisations.
First - the global climate stripes for 1850-2025. A third darkest red stripe is added.
The last 11 years have been the warmest 11 years on record. A sequence that is unlikely to be broken soon.
First - the global climate stripes for 1850-2025. A third darkest red stripe is added.
The last 11 years have been the warmest 11 years on record. A sequence that is unlikely to be broken soon.
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Road builders in Brazil dismantle ancient coastal middens in the 1940s-'50s. Random bones and artifacts sent to local museum, boxes stored for decades without being studied. Now, researchers finally look and discover oldest-known whale harpoons, pointing to Indigenous open-sea whaling 5000 yrs ago!
In a new study, researchers from @uab.cat claim people have been whaling for almost 5,000 years – and that the earliest evidence comes from the warm coastal waters of Brazil, not the Arctic. www.science.org/content/arti... @science.org
World’s oldest whale harpoons discovered in Brazil
Far from the icy Arctic, ancient South Americans hunted whales using whalebone tools
www.science.org
January 9, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Road builders in Brazil dismantle ancient coastal middens in the 1940s-'50s. Random bones and artifacts sent to local museum, boxes stored for decades without being studied. Now, researchers finally look and discover oldest-known whale harpoons, pointing to Indigenous open-sea whaling 5000 yrs ago!
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
![Comic. [Banner: Mathematical Society: 2025 Meeting.] PERSON 1 with bun: Any other new developments from the year to cover before we wrap? PERSON 2: Oh, the teens picked a new funny number. PERSON 3 with short hair: Aww, I’m glad to hear they’re still doing that. PERSON 4 with ponytail: I’ll add it to the list. [List: 23 (skidoo!; 42; 69; 420; 1,337; 58,008; [circled]: 67]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreig43e2u4zzpifhq6fbf2iwplmva2lt5rokfg5uws5dysbe55up6wa@jpeg)
December 26, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Please repost! The LOC Lab @UCSB is recruiting a #PostdoctoralScholar in forest ecology and data science to
develop data-driven models of forest resilience to compound disturbances (e.g., fire, drought, insects). 🌱🍁🌏🧪🌐
Applications due Feb 5
Apply here: www.landscapesofchangelab.com/were-hiring-1
develop data-driven models of forest resilience to compound disturbances (e.g., fire, drought, insects). 🌱🍁🌏🧪🌐
Applications due Feb 5
Apply here: www.landscapesofchangelab.com/were-hiring-1
December 18, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Please repost! The LOC Lab @UCSB is recruiting a #PostdoctoralScholar in forest ecology and data science to
develop data-driven models of forest resilience to compound disturbances (e.g., fire, drought, insects). 🌱🍁🌏🧪🌐
Applications due Feb 5
Apply here: www.landscapesofchangelab.com/were-hiring-1
develop data-driven models of forest resilience to compound disturbances (e.g., fire, drought, insects). 🌱🍁🌏🧪🌐
Applications due Feb 5
Apply here: www.landscapesofchangelab.com/were-hiring-1
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Keeping rats out of our toilets seems like an important yet heretofore unexplored climate action talking point.
King County warns of toilet rats after record flooding
King County warns of toilet rats after record flooding
Rats could climb up your toilet as a result of recent flooding from atmospheric rivers, King County officials say. Enter "wet rat winter."
www.seattletimes.com
December 20, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Keeping rats out of our toilets seems like an important yet heretofore unexplored climate action talking point.
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
New Weather West post: As warm atmospheric rivers slide gradually southward along Pacific Coast, a return to rain and end to tule fog in NorCal later this week–but don’t expect much mountain snow (at least initially).
As warm atmospheric rivers slide gradually southward along Pacific Coast, a return to rain and end to tule fog in NorCal later this week–but don’t expect much mountain snow - Weather West
An exceptional temperature inversion: Weeks of tule fog and damp chill in the Central Valley amid a record-warm airmass more broadly across American West and California Well, it sure has been another dramatic couple of weeks when it comes to Western U.S. weather! But exactly what the drama has been varies widely from place to
weatherwest.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:08 AM
New Weather West post: As warm atmospheric rivers slide gradually southward along Pacific Coast, a return to rain and end to tule fog in NorCal later this week–but don’t expect much mountain snow (at least initially).
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
I'm teaching Statistical Rethinking again starting Jan 2026. This time with live lectures, divided into Beginner and Experienced sections. Will be a lot more work for me, but I hope much better for students.
I will record lectures & all will be found at this link: github.com/rmcelreath/s...
I will record lectures & all will be found at this link: github.com/rmcelreath/s...
December 9, 2025 at 1:58 PM
I'm teaching Statistical Rethinking again starting Jan 2026. This time with live lectures, divided into Beginner and Experienced sections. Will be a lot more work for me, but I hope much better for students.
I will record lectures & all will be found at this link: github.com/rmcelreath/s...
I will record lectures & all will be found at this link: github.com/rmcelreath/s...
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
I’m recruiting a PhD and MSC student for fall 2026 working on the movement ecology and conservation of Mexican spotted owls in SW forests and rocky canyonlands. Exciting partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory. Great vibrant lab group, high impact research! 🦉
gavinmjones.com/opportunities/
gavinmjones.com/opportunities/
Opportunities
***PhD and MSc openings – Movement ecology and conservation*** I will periodically support graduate students, postdocs, and other staff through the Biology Department at the University of New…
gavinmjones.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:30 PM
I’m recruiting a PhD and MSC student for fall 2026 working on the movement ecology and conservation of Mexican spotted owls in SW forests and rocky canyonlands. Exciting partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory. Great vibrant lab group, high impact research! 🦉
gavinmjones.com/opportunities/
gavinmjones.com/opportunities/
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
I'm very sad to say William Bond, of the University of Cape Town & Fellow of the Royal Society (@royalsociety.org ), has passed away. It is a great loss. He was an enthusiastic ecologist and a critical thinker. I learned a lot, and I still had a lot to learn from him. RIP. 😢
🧪🌎🔥🌿🌳🪴🌐 #PlantScience
🧪🌎🔥🌿🌳🪴🌐 #PlantScience
December 4, 2025 at 10:06 PM
I'm very sad to say William Bond, of the University of Cape Town & Fellow of the Royal Society (@royalsociety.org ), has passed away. It is a great loss. He was an enthusiastic ecologist and a critical thinker. I learned a lot, and I still had a lot to learn from him. RIP. 😢
🧪🌎🔥🌿🌳🪴🌐 #PlantScience
🧪🌎🔥🌿🌳🪴🌐 #PlantScience
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Happy #BatMas everyone! Follow this thread ⬇️ or check out the hashtag to find out about a new bat species everyday, for 25 days! 🦇🌎🧪
#BatSky🧵
#BatSky🧵
a group of bats are sitting on top of each other on a green leaf
ALT: a group of bats are sitting on top of each other on a green leaf
media.tenor.com
December 1, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Valid link to the paper:
mapress.com/zt/article/v...
mapress.com/zt/article/v...
December 2, 2025 at 9:05 AM
Valid link to the paper:
mapress.com/zt/article/v...
mapress.com/zt/article/v...
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Norman et al. The role of AI in ecology’s computational carbon footprint esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #AI #ecology #CarbonFootprint
The role of AI in ecology’s computational carbon footprint
Click on the article title to read more.
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Norman et al. The role of AI in ecology’s computational carbon footprint esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #AI #ecology #CarbonFootprint
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
“Choosing to write is also choosing to make meaning. Studies suggest that having a sense of agency is both a prerequisite for, and an outcome of, writing.”
ChatGPT isn’t mentioned once in this article but it’s impossible not to read it as a powerful critique.
ChatGPT isn’t mentioned once in this article but it’s impossible not to read it as a powerful critique.
Writing doesn't just help you process your thoughts.
Neuroscientists have found it physically changes your brain in ways that build resilience and help you handle everyday stress and challenges.
buff.ly/8PdXnTT
Neuroscientists have found it physically changes your brain in ways that build resilience and help you handle everyday stress and challenges.
buff.ly/8PdXnTT
Writing builds resilience by changing your brain, helping you face everyday challenges
Resilience is often presented as feats of bravery and endurance. But everyday practices like journaling, drafting a text or even writing a to-do list are manifestations of a capacity to adapt.
buff.ly
November 28, 2025 at 10:11 PM
“Choosing to write is also choosing to make meaning. Studies suggest that having a sense of agency is both a prerequisite for, and an outcome of, writing.”
ChatGPT isn’t mentioned once in this article but it’s impossible not to read it as a powerful critique.
ChatGPT isn’t mentioned once in this article but it’s impossible not to read it as a powerful critique.
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
Despite the general perception, global emissions from biomass burning have shown a decreasing trend over the last 23 years, a pattern that is reversed in North America.
🧪🌎🔥🌲🔥🌳🍁🌐 wildfire
🧪🌎🔥🌲🔥🌳🍁🌐 wildfire
🧵
Global annual total estimated emissions of total carbon from biomass burning grouped by continental contributions from 2003 to 2025.
Global annual total estimated emissions of total carbon from biomass burning grouped by continental contributions from 2003 to 2025.
November 27, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Despite the general perception, global emissions from biomass burning have shown a decreasing trend over the last 23 years, a pattern that is reversed in North America.
🧪🌎🔥🌲🔥🌳🍁🌐 wildfire
🧪🌎🔥🌲🔥🌳🍁🌐 wildfire
Some important news this week that fell below the headlines or other news
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/c...
In One Week, Trump Moves to Reshape U.S. Environmental Policy
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Some important news this week that fell below the headlines or other news
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/c...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/c...
Reposted by Zack Steel 🪶🦇🌲🔥
🤯 Wild shit here. They put biologgers on greater noctule bats and found them pursuing, capturing, and eating birds in-flight. The recording of a European Robin getting blasted and snacked on is nuts.
Sci Am story: www.scientificamerican.com/article/this...
Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Sci Am story: www.scientificamerican.com/article/this...
Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Bat vs. Robin—Scientists Capture Real-Life Audio of Midair Hunt
Scientists suspected that Europe’s largest bats snack on migrating songbirds when they can, but a stunning newly published observation proves it
www.scientificamerican.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:15 PM
🤯 Wild shit here. They put biologgers on greater noctule bats and found them pursuing, capturing, and eating birds in-flight. The recording of a European Robin getting blasted and snacked on is nuts.
Sci Am story: www.scientificamerican.com/article/this...
Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Sci Am story: www.scientificamerican.com/article/this...
Paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...