Professor, Michigan State University

Kurt Kipfmueller is 1855 Professor of Tribal and Indigenous Natural Resources Management in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University. Kurt’s work uses the information encoded in the annual rings of trees to help tell the stories of landscape and cultural change. Kurt has expertise in reconstructing past disturbances—particularly fire—and to develop tree growth chronologies that reflect climate variability. He has conducted research in the Great 

His research examines the long-term relationships among fire, climate, and people to inform stewardship of Upper Great Lakes forests. His work promotes forest resilience, supports Indigenous cultural fire practices, and advances understanding of forest change. His current research focuses on fire regimes of red pine forests in the Upper Great Lakes and the role of the Anishinaabe in shaping and stewarding their forests using fire. He is currently focused on collaborative efforts to help identify areas where returning good fire to the landscape would have both cultural and ecological significance. 

Kurt has recently joined the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University after a career in the Department of Geography, Environment, & Society at the University of Minnesota. Kurt was born and raised in Mt. Pleasant, MI and has maintained lifelong relationship with Northern Michigan landscapes, forests, and waters.