SFE Webinar: COVID-19 Impacts on Southeast Prescribed Fire & Strategies for Keeping Fire on the Ground

Hosts: NASA, Tall Timbers Research Station, Southern Fire Exchange, Joint Fire Science Program, and the University of Florida

Presenters: Benjamin Poulter, Ph.D., NASA Earth Sciences Division

Morgan Varner, Ph.D., Tall Timbers Research Station

Greg Titus, US Fish and Wildlife Service

Brett Williams, US Air Force Wildland Fire Branch

Sasha Ernst, Florida Park Service

Webinar Description: The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has altered the use of prescribed fire on hundreds of thousands of acres of public and private lands across the Southeastern United States. In this special two-part webinar, scientists and fire management program leaders will discuss both the measurable impacts of the pandemic on prescribed fire use, as well as successful strategies for managing fire during the time of COVID-19. In the first presentation, NASA research scientist Ben Poulter, Ph.D., will discuss the results of a project with Tall Timbers Research Station that identified changes in the pattern and frequency of fire across the region in 2020. In the second half of the webinar, a panel of prescribed fire managers from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Eglin Air Force Base, and the Florida Park Service, will discuss their experiences, lessons, and strategies for managing prescribed fire programs in 2020 and 2021. Following the research presentation and panel discussion, there will be time for audience Q/A.

Registration is required. Register here.