How to Love a Forest with Ethan Tapper and Mike Chaveas

Only those who love trees should cut them, writes forester Ethan Tapper. Tapper is a forester, birder, naturalist and popular digital creator, and the bestselling author of How to Love a Forest. He has been recognized as a thought-leader and a disruptor in the forestry and conservation community of the northeastern United States and beyond, winning multiple regional and national awards for his work. In How to Love a Forest, he asks what it means to live during a time in which ecosystems are in retreat and extinctions rattle the bones of the earth. How do we use our species' incredible power to heal rather than to harm?

Joining Ethan in a discussion, Mike Chaveas is the USFS Forest Supervisor of the Hoosier National Forest—204,000-acres of rolling forested hills of south-central Indiana. Mike will share his firsthand experience with oak-hickory restoration and explore the values and mindsets involved with land stewardship efforts in this public/private intersection. A significant slice of his work managing the forested lands involves working with communities to develop a shared vision of stewardship focused on restoring, maintaining, and interpreting the cultural and natural resources of the Hoosier.

Tapper says that the actions we must take to protect ecosystems are often counterintuitive, uncomfortable, and even heartbreaking. He will show how bittersweet acts—like loving deer and hunting them, loving trees and felling them—can be expressions of compassion.

Join us as Tapper and Chaveas explore a land ethic in action for a modern, thriving natural world.

This program aired live on Thursday, April 10, 2025.