Katie Low

Katie Low is the Statewide Coordinator for UC ANR’s Fire Network. She works with Fire Network Members to help California’s residents, natural resource professionals, and communities accelerate the implementation of fire adaptation and resilience projects at all levels. Locally, Katie delivers science-based trainings about vegetation management and wildfire preparedness for communities in the western Sierra. Regionally, she works with organizations to provide professional development opportunities and trainings for early career fire and forestry professionals in an effort to develop a robust workforce. Katie works with Fire Network members across the state to develop educational materials and virtual trainings related to home hardening, defensible space, wildfire preparedness, and vegetation management.

Katie is passionate about understanding the dynamics between forest health, wildfire, and ecosystems management. She is a Registered Professional Forester (RPF #3331) who earned a Master of Forestry with an emphasis in fire ecology and a B.S. in Ecosystems Management and Forestry and B.A. in Geography, all from UC Berkeley. Her research interests include assessing the short- and long-term ecological impacts and efficacy of fuel reduction and forest restoration treatments on California's mixed-conifer forests. 

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Low, Kathryn E.; Battles, John J.; Tompkins, Ryan E.; Dillingham, Colin P.; Stephens, Scott L.; Collins, Brandon M. (2023). Shaded fuel breaks create wildfire-resilient forest stands: lessons from a long-term study in the Sierra Nevada. Fire Ecology. 19:29. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s42408-023-00187-2. 

Low, Kathryn E. (2021). Anthropogenic Climate Change in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California, USA. https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2285334. 

Low, Kathryn E.; Collins, Brandon M.; Bernal, Alexis; Sanders, John E.; Pastor, Dylan; Manley, Patricia; White, Angela M.; Stephens, Scott L. (2021). Longer-term impacts of fuel reduction treatments on forest structure, fuels, and drought resistance in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Forest Ecology and Management. 479:118609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118609.