Author

Dave Mertz

Dave Mertz

Dave Mertz retired from the Black Hills National Forest in 2017 as the forest's natural resource officer. Over the course of his career, he was a forester, silviculturist, forest fire management officer and a fire staff officer.

COMMENTARY
The Palmer Gulch Fire burns in October 2022 in the Black Hills. (Courtesy of Black Hills National Forest)

On wildfire funding, the Forest Service is like the dog that caught the car

By: - April 29, 2023

Watching congressional hearings is a really interesting way to find things out that you may otherwise never hear about. Over the past couple of months, there have been Senate hearings for the farm bill with the U.S. Forest Service’s Associate Chief Angela Coleman, and Senate Appropriations hearings with Chief Randy Moore. Particularly interesting was the […]