Dr. Jonathan Martin

Dr. Jonathan (Jon) Martin is a semi-retired professor of forestry and natural resources with a career in forest science spanning three decades. His work over the years has focused on three main themes: (1) developing better ways understand forest structure and growth; (2) furthering our understanding of how forests change over time and interact with carbon cycles, climate variation, and disturbance; (3) helping conservation efforts in forests through landowner engagement, empowering us all to have a role, and the enhancement of forest conditions to better match landowner and landscape needs.

Jon holds a Ph.D. in Forestry from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor's degree in Forestry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was a faculty researcher at Oregon State University for many years and then taught field-based ecology and forestry courses as a professor at Northland College from 2012-2025. Over the years, he has worked on research to improve how we measure and scale forest productivity; to identify the links between climate, production, and biogeochemistry of forest soils; and to quantify how climate and wildfire impact carbon cycling in forests. He also works in the field of canopy ecology, where he looks for unknowns in the tops of trees; this work led to many other sub-projects, including the discovery of fluorescence in flying squirrels. His teaching at Northland College specialized in field skills and ecological thinking across all his courses that included: introductory ecology, forest mensuration, forest ecology and management, silviculture and forest planning, natural resources policy, fire ecology and management, sustainable forest management, wildland fire certification, chainsaw safety and certification, GPS/navigation/mapping skills, vegetation management skills, and wildlife habitat assessment skills.

Currently, Jon is an affiliate scientist with the Burke Center for Ecosystem Research and continues to climb trees in the name of science, conservation, and fun, and is also developing techniques for wildlife habitat enhancement in canopies. He is also a consulting forester who specializes in helping landowners engage with their forests and empowering them to enhance forest conditions to match their values. Through his consulting, he works on management, interpretation, restoration, and recreation plans and actions as well as custom mapping projects and drone imagery for remote sensing. Jon is a proud Cooperating Forester, Certified Plan Writer, and Champion Tree Inspector for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.