John Punches

Punches, John

Position Type:
Faculty
Job Title:
Associate Professor & Extension Forester for Union, Umatilla, and Wallowa Counties
Department:
Outreach and Engagement
Forest Engineering, Resources & Management
Office Location:
Union County Extension
Phone Number:
(541) 602-4689
Email:
john.punches@oregonstate.edu
CV:
Punches OSU CV 2024.pdf
Counties Served (OSU Extension):
Union, Umatilla, Wallowa
Website:
Life on the Dry Side
Education
PhD, 2017, Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University
MS, 1993 Wood Science and Forest Products, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
BS, 1990 Forestry, Michigan Technological University
Research Interests
  • Prescribed fire
  • Fire behavior
  • Forest Management
  • Silviculture
  • Forest restoration to promote resiliency to wildfire and climate stress
Bio
John is an Associate Professor in the Forest Engineering, Resources and Management Department, and the Extension Forester serving the northeastern corner of Oregon (Union, Umatilla, and Wallowa Counties). He is actively engaged in development of new professional fire management courses and certification program at the departmental level, and in all-lands partnership efforts in northeastern Oregon to promote restoration of native forests to resilient conditions. John also serves as a search and rescue volunteer and instructor. Currently engaged in development of a professional fire manager certificate program at OSU, with funding from the BLM.
Graduate Students:
Courses Taught:
  • Academic credit classes
    FOR252/508 Guard School (wildland firefighter type 2); FOR452/552 Prescribed Fire Practicum
  • Extension non-credit classes
    Forest management, forest health, forest treatment monitoring, forest management planning, prescribed fire planning and implementation, fire risk reduction, others as identified through local needs assessments
  • Professional development courses
    Certified Burn Manager, others as requested within forestry and wildland/prescribed fire subject areas
Selected Publications:

  1. Before Wildfire Strikes: A guide to improving wildfire preparedness and living with fire in Hood River County. Kayla Bordelon, John Punches, Charles Young, Andrew Spaeth, Lauren Kraemer and Rachael Cleveland. EM 9428 | April 2024 | https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/documents/reyesdi…

  2. Before Wildfire Strikes: A guide to wildfire risk reduction in Wallowa County. John Punches, John Rizza and Jacob Putney. EM 9405 | October 2023 | https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/documents/reyesdi…

  3. Schmidt, A., Leavell, D. M., Punches, J. W., Rocha Ibarra, M. A., Kagan, J. S., Creutzburg, M., McCune, M., Salwasser, J., Walter, C., Berger, C. A. (2022). A quantitative wildfire risk assessment using a modular approach of geostatistical clustering and regionally distinct valuations of assets - A case study in Oregon.. Public Library of Science.

  4. Life on the Dry Side magazine. Find recent additions: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/newsletter/life-dry-side-forestry-new…

Extension Title:
Extension Forester