51Ç鱨վ

By: Tiffany Whitfield

Zoe Colatarci received her Bachelor of Science in Biology May 2021 from 51Ç鱨վ and serves as a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Colatarci's father is a retired Navy chief and because of her upbringing she felt compelled to protect and serve nature. "Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would be a firefighter, let alone going to work in the morning to light the woods on fire but here I am, and I love it," said Colatarci.

"When I got out of high school, I didn't have the credentials nor the means to go to a four-year university, so I chose to go to Tidewater Community College (Norfolk campus) and get my associates," said Colatarci. After completing her associates degree, she took a year off and then decided to go back to school. "51Ç鱨վ, being close to home, seemed like a great choice and it's a wonderful school with amazing staff and programs," said Colatarci. "If I could go back, I wouldn't have it any other way."

To help her figure out what she wanted to do when she arrived at 51Ç鱨վ, Colatarci met with someone from each of the seven departments in the College of Sciences and talked about life. Once she met with Tatyana Lobova, Ph.D., master lecturer, in the Department of Biology her choice became clear. "She made me feel okay for not knowing what I wanted to do and made me feel extremely comfortable in that space," said Colatarci. "I love the planet and all of its tiny processes, that is biology; life is biology."

Colatarci's affinity to nature blossomed after selecting biology as her major at 51Ç鱨վ. She joined 51Ç鱨վ's Botanical Society of America and worked at Arthur and Phyllis Kaplan Orchid Conservatory on the weekends. She was also a research assistant in Lisa Horth's Bee research facility. "I was so fortunate to have been able to work with such an amazing group of women, studying some of the most integral pieces to our planetary puzzle, pollinators," said Colatarci. "The research done in her facility could change the world and I was so happy to "Bee" a part of it."

Once she took a class with Lytton Musselman, Manager of the and Mary Payne Hogan distinguished professor of Botany, her enthusiasm for biology intensified.

"Zoe is the kind of student any professor teaching a field course would be eager to have--ebullient about plants and how native plants have historically been used for food, fiber, dyes, and medicine," said Musselman. "She took my Field Ethnobotany course and was especially interested in the university owned Blackwater Ecologic Preserve where fire is essential for the health of the community."

Musselman is the Manager of Blackwater Ecologic Preserve, and he received an email from a forester offering training to any student who wanted to be certified for prescribed burning. "Zoe applied, finished the course, and--amazingly--has participated in ten prescribed burns since March," said Musselman. "Ecologists who managed those burns told me how well she performed." And if that were not enough, she has volunteered at the Department of Forestry facility preparing pine seedlings for planting. "While Smoky the Bear might be unduly alarmed, I am proud of her," said Musselman.

"I owe a lot to Dr. Lytton Musselman," said Colatarci. "He is a mind full of knowledge that I could listen to all day and his passion for plants is absolutely contagious." The first time she stepped foot at Blackwater Ecological Preserve is when Colatarci was drawn to longleaf pine trees. "At that point in time, I of course looked up and saw this beautiful pine, but I don't think I truly understood the importance and real allure that those Longleaf pines held within them, bursting out like fireworks at the tips of their branches," said Colatarci. "That day I saw a beautiful tree but now I see so much more." Musselman taught Colatarci how to read the landscape and plants.

"Without Dr. Musselman I would not be a wildland firefighter right now and I would not be working alongside other conservationists to contribute," said Colatarci. As a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Fish and wildland, Colatarci has not only done forest maintenance at Blackwater Ecologic Preserve in Zuni, but she's worked in Ivor, Suffolk, other parts of Virginia and Maryland.

Prescribed burning proves to be one of the most useful and beneficial tools in forest maintenance. "The forest needs fire and Indigenous people often used fire to maintain wildlands and the trees that gave them life," said Colatarci. "Overall, it reduces competition for native plants, promotes a diverse understory, and cleans litter from the forest floor." Many plants are even adapted to fire and need it for their success, like the native Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris).

"Prescription burns are a work of art, carefully planned and executed by trained professionals, with serious considerations of weather conditions and fire behavior," said Colatarci. People from many different agencies, such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Natural Resources, The Parks Service, The Nature Conservancy, and many more come together to make these burns happen. "We purposefully start very controlled fires within confined boundaries and make sure the fire does not exceed those boundaries using proper tools and knowledge," said Colatarci.

"Over the course of a day, we can make the difference of a lifetime and I feel like the Lorax, as a voice for the trees, said Colatarci. "Because of controlled burns performed in areas like Blackwater Ecological Preserve and the surrounding Southeastern Virginia area, we have been able to reestablish and maintain the dwindling northernmost population of Longleaf Pine."

Colatarci believes controlled burns are essential to forest preservation and a better alternative to raging wildfires that burns the forest to the ground. "For the longest time, we have been told by Smokey the Bear, "only you can prevent forest fires!" Which is correct, but if the forest is regularly burned and a wildland occurs, which is inevitable, it will be more controllable," said Colatarci.

Prescribed burns are seasonal and Colatarci has the opportunity to go out west to fight wildland fires.

She credits all of her previous professors for her success. "51Ç鱨վ facilitates growth and that's all you're really coming to college to do, right? ," said Colatarci. "That's what college is supposed to be for, and I feel that this university really helped me find myself and my path."