The Nature Conservancy: Arkansas Prescribed Fire

Seth Pearson

Seth has been employed with The Nature Conservancy for 5 years. He started with the conservancy in 2004 on the burn crew and now serves as the Land Steward for the Arkansas Field Office.  Seth is responsible for planning and implementing stewardship and restoration work on preserves through out the state.  One of these stewardship actions is prescribed fire implementation throughout the
state.

Seth graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Biology with a specialization in Ecology, Evolution, and Population Biology.

Kyle Lapham

Private Lands Fire Restoration Project Manager

Kyle has worked for TNC-Arkansas for 5 seasons, starting on the burn crew and working his way up the ranks.  He works in combination with Jason Milks to head up the Private Lands Fire Team.  Their project focuses on reintroducing fire on the landscape in several focal areas around the state. 

During his career at TNC he has also worked with the Iowa chapter conducting burns in the Loess Hills of Iowa. In addition he has worked a summer in Arkansas as a field technician for the Ouachita Rivers Program conducting stream surveys on the Middle Fork of the Saline River.

Prior to his work with TNC-Arkansas chapter he has worked for the USFS in Utah on a Wilderness Trail Crew and the Pottawattamie County Conservation Board in Western Iowa as a Park Ranger Intern

Kyle Received his Bachelor of Science in Geography/Environmental Studies from The University of Iowa, Iowa City IA 2004.  He was originally born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He currently resides in Little Rock with his wife Jessie and his little daughter Norah.

Jason Milks

  

Private Lands Species-at-Risk Project Manager

Jason has been burning with The Nature Conservancy Arkansas Field Office since 2003.  He coordinates ARFO's private land projects that involve fire and/or quail habitat restoration, and is working towards becoming an additional Burn Boss.

Jason is a resident of Sherwood with his bride Ashley. Jason's education includes a BS in Fish and Wildlife Management from UALR and a MS in Forest Ecology from UA-Monticello.  Previous to TNC, he has worked for the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, Ducks Unlimited,
and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Jeremy Gottfried

Fire Management Specialist Interior Highlands

Jeremy has spent four seasons with TNC Arkansas. He started as
a burn crew member, then led the crew for a season before spending two
seasons as a fire management specialist. Before working in Arkansas
Jeremy spent a summer doing monitoring and prescribed fire with TNC
Texas. He now spends his summers out west working for the federal fire
suppression agencies.

Jeremy got his Bachelor's in Environmental Studies in 2005 from Hendrix
College in Conway, AR. He is originally from Sewanee, TN.

Mcree Anderson

Fire Restoration Project Director/Project Leader-Fire Learning Network-South-Central Region

McRee has been intimately involved with fire management professionals since 2001, who are interested in developing large landscape-scale fire restoration projects for ecosystem health and sustainability, with a diverse partner base. The South-Central Fire Learning Network encompasses 15 landscapes in four ecoregions across four states, totaling 333,887 acres.

McRee has also worked in Latin America where he was Ignition Boss on the first ‘prescribed fire’ in  Mexico and is currently assisting with the development of a pine-oak ecosystem fire restoration project in Honduras. McRee received a Master degree in Water Resources from Portland State University and is certified as a RXB2 burn boss. McRee grew up in the Ouachita Mountain in west central Arkansas and loves burning places he once built forts as a kid.

Clint Harris

Fire Management Specialist- UWGCP

Clint has worked for the Nature Conservancy for 4 Burn seasons in Arkansas, 2 summers on the Benson Slash Creek stream restoration project in Cotton Plant, AR as a Land Management Technician and 1 summer on a Blackland Prairie restoration project near Hope, AR. Prior to his work with TNC Clint worked 6 summers with the Arkansas Game and Fish commission as a summer intern.

Clint attended Texarkana college, Texarkana, TX for two years and transferred to Arkansas Tech University, Russelville, AR where he received his Bachelors degree in Fish and Wildlife Biology in 2004. He was born and raised in Fouke, AR located in the Southwestern portion of the state.

Mike Melnechuk

Fire Manager TNC-AR and LA/Burn Boss/Assistant Director of Stewardship

Mike has worked for The Nature Conservancy-Arkansas Field Office for 10 years, started as Burn Crew Technician, then moved into the Assistant Land Steward position, Stewardship Ecologist, then into his current position as Fire Manager/Assistant Director of Stewardship.
Prior to his work with TNC-Arkansas chapter, he worked for TNC-Nebraska on the Niobrara Valley Preserve as a Ranch/Fire Technician. He has also worked on the South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, and Texas fire programs. 

Mike received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo MI 1997. He is originally from London, Ontario and was born in Newmarket, Ontario Canada.
He moved to Sterling Heights, MI in 1985.