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Julie Korb is a professor in the Department of Biology at Fort Lewis College. She joined the college in 2002. She is a fire and forest ecologist, studying the ecological ramifications of climate change, forest restoration, the effects of growing season warming on plant species interactions and other related areas. Currently, Dr. Korb is investigating the effects of restoration treatments in warm, dry-mixed conifer on ecological attributes (with the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University). She also consults with various community partners, including the San Juan National Forest and Mountain Studies Institute, where she is monitoring vegetation impacted by the Missionary Ridge and 416 fires and quantifying changes in the ecological structure of pure aspen stands with different levels of Sudden Aspen Decline. Dr. Korb also serves as an expert witness and ecological consultant for post-wildland fire vegetation assessments across the western U.S.
Dr. Korb involves Fort Lewis students in all of her research with agencies and organizations and has directed over 75 independent research projects that have resulted in students publishing and/or presenting their work at national and regional conferences. Dr. Korb has been an invited speaker for various professional associations, community organizations and other institutions, presenting on topics such as forest management, fire ecology, and native plants in the San Juan Mountains. Dr. Korb is the faculty advisor for the FLC chapter of Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity and Sustainability (SEEDS) and Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women Faculty at Fort Lewis. Dr. Korb is an active volunteer with the Karma and Jyamu Foundation to improve education, health and ecological sustainability in remote villages of northeastern Nepal.
Dr. Korb was the 2009-2010 Fort Lewis College Featured Scholar. She received the 2014 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Northern Arizona University’s School of Forestry and the 2014 La Plata County Adult Role Model Award. In 2018, the Association for Fire Ecology recognized Dr. Korb as one of only six women to be certified nationally as a senior wildland fire ecologist for her education, training, and experience. Dr. Korb is a member of several professional associations, including the Association for Fire Ecology and the Ecological Society of America, and she is a manuscript reviewer for numerous journals, including Forest Ecology and Management, International Journal of Wildland Fire, Canadian Journal of Forest Research and Journal of Applied Ecology.
Korb, J.E. and M. Remke 2022. Abiotic variables associated with conifer regeneration in warm-dry mixed conifer in the 416 Fire, Southwest Colorado. 16th Biennial Conference of Science and Management on the Colorado Plateau. Flagstaff, Arizona.
Korb, J.E. 2021. Restoring Our Forests and Improving Plant Diversity after Fires. Life-long Learning series, Fort Lewis College, sponsored by the President’s Office and Professional Associates of FLC, Durango, Colorado.
Korb, J.E. and D.A. Kirk 2020. Post-wildland fire ecological assessments: case studies from the western United States using a multi-tiered, interdisciplinary method. American Geophysical Union International Conference. San Francisco, California.
Korb, J.E., Stoddard, M., and D. Huffman 2020. Effectiveness of Restoration Treatments for Reducing Fuels and Increasing Understory Diversity in Shrubby Mixed-Conifer Forests of the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA.
Korb, J.E., Fornwalt, P.J., and C.S. Stevens-Rumann 2020. What drives ponderosa pine regeneration following wildfire in the western United States? Durango, Colorado.
Korb, J.E., Stoddard, M, and D. Huffman 2019. The importance of long-term studies for quantifying forest restoration effects and temporal dynamics: an example from warm/dry mixed-conifer in southwestern Colorado. 8th International Fire Ecology and Management Congress, Tucson, Arizona.
Korb, J.E. 2019. Invited Speaker/Moderator. 416 Fire Panel. SGM Fall Forum Series: Burned, Buried and Flooded: Water Resources Excitement in Southwest Colorado. Durango.
Korb, J.E., Fornwalt, P, and C. Stevens-Rumann 2019. Invited Speaker. Drivers of ponderosa pine regeneration following wildfire in the western United States. North American Forest Ecology Workshop. Flagstaff, Arizona.
Korb, J.E. 2019. The transient nature of warm/dry mixed-conifer restoration treatment effects on understory vegetation and fuels 10 years post-treatment. San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership, Pagosa Springs, Colorado.