Scott Crist

Scott Crist is the Fire Management Officer for the Shawnee National Forest, a division of the USDA Forest Service that features a variety of terrain and fuel types across southern Illinois. His career has taken him across the country, working for multiple federal and local agencies. He is qualified as a Division/Group Supervisor, Prescribed Fire Burn Boss Type 2, and Prescribed Fire Manager Type 2. He believes in working together across ownership boundaries to tackle large-scale problems such as the degraded habitat and elevated risk that has resulted from the widespread reduction in fire on the landscape since settlement. He is also on the Advisory Board for the Oak Woodlands and Forests Fire Consortium, and strives to work across disciplinary boundaries to bring together researchers and managers to improve our stewardship of the lands we manage.

​In his spare time he enjoys traveling, fishing, cooking, photography, watching and playing sports, and spending time with his wife and two sons.

UPDATED 8/2021