Research Ecologist | Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis
Dr. Hugh Safford is a research ecologist in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California-Davis, which he joined in 2003. Safford served as director of the Sierra Nevada section of the California Fire Science Consortium from its inception till 2026 and now serves as a Regional and Technical Advisor assisting with Statewide activities. Safford was also the Regional Ecologist for the USDA-Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region (California, Hawaii, Pacific territories) between 2001 and 2022, and he served as Chief Scientist for Vibrant Planet, an environmental public benefits corporation focused on forest resilience and wildfire risk reduction, between 2022 and 2024. While in the Forest Service, Safford established the multipartner Southern California Montane Forest Conservation Strategy and founded the recurring California Chaparral Symposium, and since 2022 he has been PI of the California State Parks Prescribed Fire Monitoring Program. The Safford Lab at UC-Davis is focused on applied ecological support to resource, forest, and fire management in California and worldwide. Safford has provided technical assistance on fire, forest management, and climate change issues in the US and abroad since the 1990s.