Geoff Staneff
@gstaneff.bsky.social
Former thermoelectrics and fuel cell scientist, software and data product manager; current forestry startup guy trying to reduce the impact of future wildfires. PNW based, have visited high intensity burns this year from Northern BC to the Sierras.
He/Him
He/Him
🌲🔥 GIS Question
Did anyone archive the USGS LiDAR data from the US West before the shutdown? It looks like rockyweb.usgs.gov/catalog is down, I can see sciencebase.gov/catalog still responding, but the redirect for the laz file runs back to rockyweb.
Did anyone archive the USGS LiDAR data from the US West before the shutdown? It looks like rockyweb.usgs.gov/catalog is down, I can see sciencebase.gov/catalog still responding, but the redirect for the laz file runs back to rockyweb.
October 31, 2025 at 7:52 PM
🌲🔥 GIS Question
Did anyone archive the USGS LiDAR data from the US West before the shutdown? It looks like rockyweb.usgs.gov/catalog is down, I can see sciencebase.gov/catalog still responding, but the redirect for the laz file runs back to rockyweb.
Did anyone archive the USGS LiDAR data from the US West before the shutdown? It looks like rockyweb.usgs.gov/catalog is down, I can see sciencebase.gov/catalog still responding, but the redirect for the laz file runs back to rockyweb.
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
I'm about to head into the field for the rest of the week, but it is time to rally again to Forest and Friends. Next Thursday, the 30th, we're meeting again to talk startups, forestry, climate, and what we can do to preserve the forested lands we cherish.
Come on out and join us, if you can!
Come on out and join us, if you can!
Forest and Friends - October 30, 2025 · Luma
It is time for one of my favorite fun forest photos, with the onset of autumn causing the eponymous Smiley Face of Smiley Face Hill, Oregon to stand out in…
luma.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:43 AM
I'm about to head into the field for the rest of the week, but it is time to rally again to Forest and Friends. Next Thursday, the 30th, we're meeting again to talk startups, forestry, climate, and what we can do to preserve the forested lands we cherish.
Come on out and join us, if you can!
Come on out and join us, if you can!
I'm about to head into the field for the rest of the week, but it is time to rally again to Forest and Friends. Next Thursday, the 30th, we're meeting again to talk startups, forestry, climate, and what we can do to preserve the forested lands we cherish.
Come on out and join us, if you can!
Come on out and join us, if you can!
Forest and Friends - October 30, 2025 · Luma
It is time for one of my favorite fun forest photos, with the onset of autumn causing the eponymous Smiley Face of Smiley Face Hill, Oregon to stand out in…
luma.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:43 AM
I'm about to head into the field for the rest of the week, but it is time to rally again to Forest and Friends. Next Thursday, the 30th, we're meeting again to talk startups, forestry, climate, and what we can do to preserve the forested lands we cherish.
Come on out and join us, if you can!
Come on out and join us, if you can!
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
Excellent piece by Greg Weaver @fresnoland.bsky.social reporting the problems that led to the loss of Teakettle. We need to future-proof our land management agencies so that internal bureaucratic process and structure does not continue to cause inaction.
fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...
fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...
October 15, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Excellent piece by Greg Weaver @fresnoland.bsky.social reporting the problems that led to the loss of Teakettle. We need to future-proof our land management agencies so that internal bureaucratic process and structure does not continue to cause inaction.
fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...
fresnoland.org/2025/10/14/g...
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
“collaborators were awarded over $5M to launch a prescribed fire across 3,300 acres…it would have been a key demonstration to show that planned fires can burn safely at a large scale…The groups were scheduled to start building fire breaks in September…But then the Garnet Fire ignited Aug. 24…”
‘All the trees are dead’: An ancient California forest has been wiped out
Old growth forests across the West are at risk of disappearing within 50 years. The Teakettle Experimental Forest is a tragic example in California.
www.sfchronicle.com
October 5, 2025 at 8:49 PM
“collaborators were awarded over $5M to launch a prescribed fire across 3,300 acres…it would have been a key demonstration to show that planned fires can burn safely at a large scale…The groups were scheduled to start building fire breaks in September…But then the Garnet Fire ignited Aug. 24…”
Coming up on Thursday! We'll have a couple new folks this month, including one of the co-founders at Aarden.ai.
September 25th, 2025 Forest and Friends in Bellevue WA.
Curious about trees and technology? So are we! Come on our and join us for a pint to talk forestry, startups, and what we can do to to create healthy landscapes and reduce wildfire severity and the smoke in our communities.
Curious about trees and technology? So are we! Come on our and join us for a pint to talk forestry, startups, and what we can do to to create healthy landscapes and reduce wildfire severity and the smoke in our communities.
Forest and Friends, September 25th, 2025 · Luma
The end of September, kids are back at school, leaves are turning, daily weather is just a bit more random than usual, welcome to fall in the PNW!
We’re…
luma.com
September 23, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Coming up on Thursday! We'll have a couple new folks this month, including one of the co-founders at Aarden.ai.
September 25th, 2025 Forest and Friends in Bellevue WA.
Curious about trees and technology? So are we! Come on our and join us for a pint to talk forestry, startups, and what we can do to to create healthy landscapes and reduce wildfire severity and the smoke in our communities.
Curious about trees and technology? So are we! Come on our and join us for a pint to talk forestry, startups, and what we can do to to create healthy landscapes and reduce wildfire severity and the smoke in our communities.
Forest and Friends, September 25th, 2025 · Luma
The end of September, kids are back at school, leaves are turning, daily weather is just a bit more random than usual, welcome to fall in the PNW!
We’re…
luma.com
September 20, 2025 at 5:54 AM
September 25th, 2025 Forest and Friends in Bellevue WA.
Curious about trees and technology? So are we! Come on our and join us for a pint to talk forestry, startups, and what we can do to to create healthy landscapes and reduce wildfire severity and the smoke in our communities.
Curious about trees and technology? So are we! Come on our and join us for a pint to talk forestry, startups, and what we can do to to create healthy landscapes and reduce wildfire severity and the smoke in our communities.
Q: How do we know robots are terrible at Forestry?
A: There is one nearby planet, populated entirely by robots, and they don't have any trees left at all!
A: There is one nearby planet, populated entirely by robots, and they don't have any trees left at all!
September 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Q: How do we know robots are terrible at Forestry?
A: There is one nearby planet, populated entirely by robots, and they don't have any trees left at all!
A: There is one nearby planet, populated entirely by robots, and they don't have any trees left at all!
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
The Garnet Fire has burned through a place I have worked since 2002. A place I hold dear. We knew this wasn't a matter of if, but when. Unfortunately the leadership on the Sierra National Forest didn't have the same urgency that we did. My eulogy for Teakettle.
www.hurteaulab.org/blog/a-eulog...
www.hurteaulab.org/blog/a-eulog...
A Eulogy for Teakettle
Justice William O. Douglas, in his dissenting opinion of the Supreme Court’s decision in Sierra Club v. Morton, said “Contemporary public concern for protecting nature’s ecological equilibrium...
www.hurteaulab.org
September 8, 2025 at 11:53 PM
The Garnet Fire has burned through a place I have worked since 2002. A place I hold dear. We knew this wasn't a matter of if, but when. Unfortunately the leadership on the Sierra National Forest didn't have the same urgency that we did. My eulogy for Teakettle.
www.hurteaulab.org/blog/a-eulog...
www.hurteaulab.org/blog/a-eulog...
Just as everyone was getting ready for bed an unexpectedly non-zero amount of croaking emanated from downstairs.
We do have a clearly posted notice: "No Wild Animals In The House" on the garage door. It appears to be not as efficacious as hoped.
We do have a clearly posted notice: "No Wild Animals In The House" on the garage door. It appears to be not as efficacious as hoped.
September 6, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Just as everyone was getting ready for bed an unexpectedly non-zero amount of croaking emanated from downstairs.
We do have a clearly posted notice: "No Wild Animals In The House" on the garage door. It appears to be not as efficacious as hoped.
We do have a clearly posted notice: "No Wild Animals In The House" on the garage door. It appears to be not as efficacious as hoped.
Fire Scar Friday?
10 days ago at Blodgett, this is the backside of one you pass on the way in every time without thinking about it. But unless you walk around behind it you won't realize the character in this burn scar.
10 days ago at Blodgett, this is the backside of one you pass on the way in every time without thinking about it. But unless you walk around behind it you won't realize the character in this burn scar.
September 6, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Fire Scar Friday?
10 days ago at Blodgett, this is the backside of one you pass on the way in every time without thinking about it. But unless you walk around behind it you won't realize the character in this burn scar.
10 days ago at Blodgett, this is the backside of one you pass on the way in every time without thinking about it. But unless you walk around behind it you won't realize the character in this burn scar.
The view looking west from a rest stop between Ellensburg and Vantage Washington on Tuesday evening. Dry lightning fire starts were pushing a lot of smoke into the air causing some red-sky conditions for much of Eastern Washington. It has occasionally been flowing over into Western Washington too.
September 5, 2025 at 10:27 PM
The view looking west from a rest stop between Ellensburg and Vantage Washington on Tuesday evening. Dry lightning fire starts were pushing a lot of smoke into the air causing some red-sky conditions for much of Eastern Washington. It has occasionally been flowing over into Western Washington too.
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
Despite the headline there is no new normal until our emissions stop. Until then we are just passing through current conditions on our way to something worse. www.cbc.ca/news/climate...
This is our second-worst wildfire season on record — and could be the new normal | CBC News
This year's wildfire season is already the second-worst on record in Canada, and experts are warning that this might be the new normal.
www.cbc.ca
September 5, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Despite the headline there is no new normal until our emissions stop. Until then we are just passing through current conditions on our way to something worse. www.cbc.ca/news/climate...
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
This is a good read. It features some of my own research as well as the expertise of two of Canada's top wildfire scientists, Dr. Ellen Whitman and Dr. @mikeflannigan.bsky.social.🔥
North America’s forests used to burn a lot more than present…
So, is climate change really making wildfires worse today?
thetradeoff.substack.com
August 28, 2025 at 5:28 PM
This is a good read. It features some of my own research as well as the expertise of two of Canada's top wildfire scientists, Dr. Ellen Whitman and Dr. @mikeflannigan.bsky.social.🔥
If you are in the Seattle Area on the Eastside tomorrow come join us for our monthly meet up about forests and startups at 5-7:30pm at Cascadia Pizza.
A lot of local and national policy, and all the lightning bursts up and down the coast this week. Details in the link, hope to see you there!
A lot of local and national policy, and all the lightning bursts up and down the coast this week. Details in the link, hope to see you there!
Forest and Friends - August 28 · Luma
Hey Folks, this summer is getting real with wildfire, just today I saw lightning in the skies all the way from the Central Sierras to the North Cascades. A…
lu.ma
August 28, 2025 at 12:05 AM
If you are in the Seattle Area on the Eastside tomorrow come join us for our monthly meet up about forests and startups at 5-7:30pm at Cascadia Pizza.
A lot of local and national policy, and all the lightning bursts up and down the coast this week. Details in the link, hope to see you there!
A lot of local and national policy, and all the lightning bursts up and down the coast this week. Details in the link, hope to see you there!
Spent the day here, getting dusty and covered in soot doing a post-fire survey of a former research stand being introduced to fire. Blodgett is in full "burn the forest to save the forest" mode now, they are getting a lot of work done this year (not now in high fire season, natch).
August 27, 2025 at 6:31 AM
Spent the day here, getting dusty and covered in soot doing a post-fire survey of a former research stand being introduced to fire. Blodgett is in full "burn the forest to save the forest" mode now, they are getting a lot of work done this year (not now in high fire season, natch).
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
Important new paper by Luke Collins and colleagues: "Extremely large fires shape fire severity patterns across the diverse forests of British Columbia [BC], Canada"
Key findings:
1. Fires in BC have increased in size from 1986-2021
2. Bigger fires have larger patches of high-severity fire
🧪🌍🔥
Key findings:
1. Fires in BC have increased in size from 1986-2021
2. Bigger fires have larger patches of high-severity fire
🧪🌍🔥
Extremely large fires shape fire severity patterns across the diverse forests of British Columbia, Canada
Warming and drying conditions are driving increases in wildfire size and annual area burned across the forests of British Columbia, Canada. The impact of increasing fire activity on these forests rem...
doi.org
August 19, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Important new paper by Luke Collins and colleagues: "Extremely large fires shape fire severity patterns across the diverse forests of British Columbia [BC], Canada"
Key findings:
1. Fires in BC have increased in size from 1986-2021
2. Bigger fires have larger patches of high-severity fire
🧪🌍🔥
Key findings:
1. Fires in BC have increased in size from 1986-2021
2. Bigger fires have larger patches of high-severity fire
🧪🌍🔥
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
POSTDOC OPPORTUNITY:
Come work with us in the Harvey Lab at Univ. of Washington (depts.washington.edu/bjhlab/)!
We're hiring a postdoc in Forest Disturbance and Landscape Ecology. Full details here: ap.washington.edu/ahr/position...
Application review starts Aug 31
Come work with us in the Harvey Lab at Univ. of Washington (depts.washington.edu/bjhlab/)!
We're hiring a postdoc in Forest Disturbance and Landscape Ecology. Full details here: ap.washington.edu/ahr/position...
Application review starts Aug 31
August 11, 2025 at 9:14 PM
POSTDOC OPPORTUNITY:
Come work with us in the Harvey Lab at Univ. of Washington (depts.washington.edu/bjhlab/)!
We're hiring a postdoc in Forest Disturbance and Landscape Ecology. Full details here: ap.washington.edu/ahr/position...
Application review starts Aug 31
Come work with us in the Harvey Lab at Univ. of Washington (depts.washington.edu/bjhlab/)!
We're hiring a postdoc in Forest Disturbance and Landscape Ecology. Full details here: ap.washington.edu/ahr/position...
Application review starts Aug 31
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
Here is a link that should not require subscription:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
August 1, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Here is a link that should not require subscription:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Hey folks, tomorrow July 24th we're doing our monthly forestry and startups meet-up. I hope to see some new faces out for pizza and BEvERages to talk forests, climate, and as we get into the hot part of the year, wildfire.
Details here: lu.ma/dn82mhs0
Photo of checking real-time LiDAR measurements
Details here: lu.ma/dn82mhs0
Photo of checking real-time LiDAR measurements
July 24, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Hey folks, tomorrow July 24th we're doing our monthly forestry and startups meet-up. I hope to see some new faces out for pizza and BEvERages to talk forests, climate, and as we get into the hot part of the year, wildfire.
Details here: lu.ma/dn82mhs0
Photo of checking real-time LiDAR measurements
Details here: lu.ma/dn82mhs0
Photo of checking real-time LiDAR measurements
Ponderosa Pine at 8,000' in Arizona might be fire resilient at a basal area of 40-60 sq ft per acre. This stand is at 150-180 with very few trees marked for removal. Setting aside the treatment target for a minute, why mark the LTM instead of ITM? An affection for tracer paint? A love of Orange?
July 18, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Ponderosa Pine at 8,000' in Arizona might be fire resilient at a basal area of 40-60 sq ft per acre. This stand is at 150-180 with very few trees marked for removal. Setting aside the treatment target for a minute, why mark the LTM instead of ITM? An affection for tracer paint? A love of Orange?
Had a great deployment near Flagstaff, the machine operator was pretty excited about what we've built. I'd love to talk about it with you in person next week when we get together at Forest and Friends!
www.tiktok.com/@deatley_bri...
www.tiktok.com/@deatley_bri...
July 17, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Had a great deployment near Flagstaff, the machine operator was pretty excited about what we've built. I'd love to talk about it with you in person next week when we get together at Forest and Friends!
www.tiktok.com/@deatley_bri...
www.tiktok.com/@deatley_bri...
One more trip to the field and it'll be time to get together and talk forestry and startups again. If you are on the eastside in Seattle on Thursday July 24th come join us for a few pints and conversation.
PNW Climate week will be ongoing, so come out and enjoy this great weather.
PNW Climate week will be ongoing, so come out and enjoy this great weather.
Forest and Friends · Luma
Hey folks, we’ve missed a couple months here with a heavy field season keeping me out of town a lot. This week we’re back on, and it is Climate Week up here…
lu.ma
July 13, 2025 at 5:45 PM
One more trip to the field and it'll be time to get together and talk forestry and startups again. If you are on the eastside in Seattle on Thursday July 24th come join us for a few pints and conversation.
PNW Climate week will be ongoing, so come out and enjoy this great weather.
PNW Climate week will be ongoing, so come out and enjoy this great weather.
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
The Forest Service is looking to allow road building and in areas that have been off-limits for the past 45 years. One stated reason is to reduce fire hazards. Here’s a post and video about what people are leaving out of this conversation.
the-lookout.org/2025/06/25/r...
the-lookout.org/2025/06/25/r...
Roadless Areas on National Forests - The Lookout
This post and video were inspired by a Facebook post from our local congressman, Doug LaMalfa, in regards to the Forest Service reforming the 2001 ‘Roadless Rule’, which placed large contiguous areas…
the-lookout.org
June 26, 2025 at 3:40 PM
The Forest Service is looking to allow road building and in areas that have been off-limits for the past 45 years. One stated reason is to reduce fire hazards. Here’s a post and video about what people are leaving out of this conversation.
the-lookout.org/2025/06/25/r...
the-lookout.org/2025/06/25/r...
Reposted by Geoff Staneff
Setting aside that I don't love the idea of "look for climate trends in 5 years of claims data by postcode"
Here's northern California - you can spot wildfires by their 10,000+% loss ratios. For context, a 100% loss ratio means every $ coming in via premiums is going out to pay for claims/expenses.
Here's northern California - you can spot wildfires by their 10,000+% loss ratios. For context, a 100% loss ratio means every $ coming in via premiums is going out to pay for claims/expenses.
June 23, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Setting aside that I don't love the idea of "look for climate trends in 5 years of claims data by postcode"
Here's northern California - you can spot wildfires by their 10,000+% loss ratios. For context, a 100% loss ratio means every $ coming in via premiums is going out to pay for claims/expenses.
Here's northern California - you can spot wildfires by their 10,000+% loss ratios. For context, a 100% loss ratio means every $ coming in via premiums is going out to pay for claims/expenses.