SFE Wiregrass Fireside Chat
2024-02-01 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
Join the SFE Wiregrass Fireside Chat this Thurs. Feb. 1st at 12:00 PM ET where you can meet in a small group with Dr. Rae Crandall, Dr. Jen Fill, and land manager Chris Kinslow.
The Fireside Chat will be an open Zoom meeting where you can connect with a small group of like-minded fire managers and researchers who are working on wiregrass issues. Just like a field workshop, Fireside Chats are an unscripted, unrecorded, low-stress environment, you can get answers to your questions, share your challenges, and build your network. All you have to do is sign up. Login and link-up with a handful of other dedicated managers.
Register for the Fireside Chat meeting here: https://bit.ly/SFEfiresidechat1
Did you miss the SFE Advanced Wiregrass Restoration and Management Webinar? You can watch the recording here: https://youtu.be/9khPiD5g9pM?feature=shared

Partner Webinar: Overview of Prescribed Fire Liability in State Law with Sara Clark
2024-02-01 13:30 - 15:00
When: Feb 1, 2024 1:30 PM ET
Hosted by: The Nature Conservancy and the Fire Learning Network.
In this 90-minute webinar, Sara Clark will provide an overview of prescribed fire liability in state law, including definitions of liability and how state laws defining liability interact with certified burn manager programs, tribal sovereignty and cultural burning, and prescribed fire insurance. Sara will provide examples from California and a selection of other states that have defined prescribed fire liability in state law, including an overview of the California Prescribed Fire Claims Fund Pilot that began operating in 2023. This webinar is intended for those who are new to the issue of prescribed fire liability or those more experienced who would like an overview of the subject, especially anyone about to engage on similar policy initiatives in their state or jurisdiction.
Sara Clark is a partner at the public interest law firm Shute, Mihaly, & Weinberger LLP based in San Francisco, California. Sara has worked extensively on prescribed fire liability, including an instrumental role in passage of California’s legislation defining gross negligence for suppression costs and establishment of the Prescribed Fire Claims Fund Pilot. She was a co-author of the Good Fire report for the Karuk Tribe, an analysis of barriers to the expansion of cultural burning and recommended solutions. Watch for Good Fire II in February 2024!
You are invited to a Zoom webinar.
Topic: Overview of Prescribed Fire Liability in State Law
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://tnc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GJOas2ICRB6dtH9Hg56Czw
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Webinar: Prescribed Fire as a Restoration Tool for Savanna Communities
2024-02-07 09:30 - 11:00 | Virtual
Prescribed Fire for Forest Management ​Webinar Series
Hosted by the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point
Select Wednesdays at 9:30-11 a.m. ET

Click here to register for “Prescribed Fire as a Restoration Tool for Savanna Communities”
February 7, 2024

​Restoring Savanna Communities in Wisconsin with Rx Fire at Ecologically Meaningful Scales
Join Jeb Barzen and Brendan Woodall as they discuss the implications of using prescribed fire to restore savanna landscapes. Jeb Barzen will focus on addressing the potential for restoring savanna communities in Wisconsin at ecologically meaningful scales through use of prescribed fire and through expanding social tools such as carbon credits or environmental labels. Most vegetative communities in Wisconsin, including a variety of savanna communities, are fire-dependent and the Wisconsin landscape is approximately 85% privately owned. A 10-fold increase in the implementation of prescribed fire is needed and our current capacity to implement those fires is limited by the number of trained people to burn safely and the incentives necessary to allow private landowners to deploy Rx fire sustainably over decades and across broad landscapes to achieve ecologically significant impacts. ​ ​​ ​​
Brendan Woodall will dive into the details on what he does as a Private Lands Biologist through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and discuss how fire is used as a restoration and management tool in savanna communities on private land. There are many barriers and limitations to actually being able to get fire on the ground safely, such as socially, financially, and logistically.

Presenters:
Jeb Barzen, M.S., B.S.; Chair, Private Lands Conservation, LLC; Chair, Wisconsin Prescribed Fire Council; Adjunct Assistant Professor, UW-Madison Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture; Lecturer, UW-Madison Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies​​
Jeb has spent most of his 36-year career studying birds and applying ecosystem restoration tools in wetlands, grasslands, and savannas worldwide. This includes conducting over 770 prescribed burns throughout the Midwe​st, in Vietnam and in the Russian Far East. While teaching prescribed burning in Russia, Jeb can uniquely claim to be the only person to be quoted by Pravda as an ‘expert American arsonist.’ Early on in his career, it became clear that the most interesting projects would last well beyond his own lifetime, so Jeb soon began to focus on teaching, mentoring, and advancing the tools that we depend upon to improve ecosystem restoration – chief among them – prescribed burning and prescribed burn practitioners. To that end, Jeb recently collaborated with the Wisconsin Prescribed Fire Council, the Gaylord Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, UW Arboretum, The Wisconsin Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and numerous local NGOs to create a course on fire ecology and prescribed burn implementation at the UW-Madison which currently matriculates 24 students each ye​ar.

Brendan Woodall, Wisconsin Private Lands Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program
Brendan grew up in Missouri, where he attended the University of Missouri – Columbia and graduated with a B.S. in Forestry and a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife. Brendan first cut his teeth with learning and implementing prescribed fire in college. Since graduating, he has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – PFW Program helping private landowners restore and enhance wildlife habitat in central Wisconsin. He has assisted with over 50 prescribed burns and 13 wildfires totaling over 10,000 acres on both public and private land. This experience helps him to consider the potential for prescribed fire as a management tool when creating wildlife habitat restoration plans​.

Moderator:
​​​Michael Demchik, Ph.D., Professor of Forestry, College of Natural Resources, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Michael Demchik grew up in southern West Virginia in unincorporated Pond Fork. With the freedom to explore the outdoors, a mountain on one side and a stream on the other, a future career in natural resources just made sense. Demchik is cu​rrently a professor of silviculture at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. His previous positions included an Extension Forester specializing in farm forestry in Minnesota, a state Maple Syrup and Non-Timber Forest Products specialist in Pennsylvania, and a number of other jobs ranging across federal, state, and private industries in West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. ​

Future Webinars Include:
March 6, 2024 – Fire and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Lake States
April 3, 2024 – Fire and Traditional Ecological Knowledge Beyond the Lake States
May 1, 2024 – Fire and Game Species
June 5, 2024 – Prescribed Fire in Urban Landscapes
July 10, 2024 – Fire and Climate Change
August 7, 2024 – Case Studies: Prescribed Fire and Red Pine
September 4, 2024 – Case Studies: Prescribed Fire and Interfering Vegetation
October 2, 2024 – Workforce Development

This Session Is Generously Sponsored By:

Successfully Bridging the Gap: Eastern US Models of Fire Science and Management Collaboration
2024-02-15 11:00 - 12:30 | Virtual
Click here to register for the Fueling Collaboration Panel Discussion:
Successfully Bridging the Gap: Eastern US Models of Fire Science and Management Collaboration

Land management programs are frequently confronted with the imperative of incorporating the most advanced scientific knowledge into their decision-making processes along with filling voids in research needed to move along effective management. Nevertheless, the persistent disparities between the realms of science and management often impede effective collaboration. In this panel, we will draw inspiration from successful case studies in the eastern United States, where land managers and scientists have forged pioneering partnerships, yielding tangible advancements in the field.

Moderators:
Helen MohrUSDA Forest Service, Southern Research StationDr. David GodwinSouthern Fire Exchange
Panelists:
Coming Soon

Partner Webinar: Climate Adaptation Strategies for Longleaf Pine Ecosystems
2024-02-20 13:00 - 14:00
As part of the monthly webinar series Ecological Forestry in the Context of Climate Change
Tuesday, February 20, 2024 at 1:00 PM ET
Hosted by: USDA Northern Forests Climate Hub
Description: Steve Jack with the T.L.L. Temple Foundation present on longleaf pine systems and fire regimes. This session will focus on fire adaptation like managing out of balance fire regimes, resetting fire return intervals, and the synergistic effects of wind and fire with a look at hurricane interactions.
Registration Information

SFE Webinar: Pine Savanna Restoration and Ecosystem Services
2024-02-21 13:00 - 14:00
A free one hour webinar from Tall Timbers Research Station, the Southern Fire Exchange, and the University of Florida IFAS.
Society of American Foresters CFE Credit Expected.
Presenter:
Cinnamon Dixon, Fire Ecologist, Tall Timbers Research Station
Webinar Description: It is expected that restoring southeastern pine savannas will boost ecosystem services. However, the success of this restoration depends on how well we can restore ecosystems and their services, the speed at which ecosystems are restored, and the tradeoffs between restored ecosystems and other typical land uses. In this presentation, we’re comparing the services provided by pine savannas at various stages of restoration with those from reference pine savannas, as well as other common land uses like row-crop agriculture, improved pasture, pine plantations, and unmanaged forests. This presentation will be of interest to anyone working to manage old field ecosystems in the South. Following the presentation there will be time for audience Q/A with the speaker.
Webinar Requirements: A reliable internet connection and speakers / headphones are required to participate. Webinar audio will be broadcast directly to your computer and may be available via a call-in number. See registration email for more details. Webinar participants do not need a microphone or video camera.
Webinar Recording: If you can’t make the webinar, look for the recording to be posted on the Southern Fire Exchange YouTube Webinar Archive.
Questions? Contactus@southernfireexchange.org
Register for the webinar here: https://ufl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__CRTsHZsSNuT2leFXvbfdA

Partner Webinar: Increasing Prescribed Fire Capacity in the Central US
2024-02-22 13:00 - 14:00
Increasing Prescribed Fire Capacity in the Central US
Hosted by: Great Plains Fire Science Exchange and Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium
Speakers: Chuck Stanley, NRCS, Carissa Wonkka, University of Florida, Wes Buchheit, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever
Thursday, Feb 22nd, 12 PM Central
Register for the webinar via Zoom

Partner Webinar: Reflections from 20 Years of Examining the Social Dynamics of Fire Management
2024-02-22 17:00 - 18:00
5:00 PM ET, Thursday, February 22, 2024
Sarah McCaffrey, Ph.D., Retired Social Scientist, USDA Forest Service
Hosted by the International Association of Wildland Fire, Association for Fire Ecology, and Pau Costa Foundation
Description: Sarah McCaffrey, PhD, retired in 2022 after 20 years as a fire social scientist with the US Forest Service where her research focused on understanding the social dynamics of fire management. This included research projects that examined the role of risk perception and risk attitudes, social acceptability of prescribed fire, homeowner mitigation decisions, evacuation decision making, risk communication, and agency-community interactions during fires. Since retirement she has been involved with a number of research and practitioner efforts to improve future fire outcomes including as an adviser to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Wildfire Resilience Initiative and Board member for Fire Adapted Colorado. She received her PhD in 2002 from the University of California at Berkeley where her dissertation examined Incline Village, Nevada homeowner views and actions in relation to defensible space and fuels management.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uf1j-BIxTHq2jL3IawWZ5w#/registration

Partner Webinar: Working with Private Landowners to Increase Prescribed Fire Capacity
2024-02-28 13:00 - 14:00
Working with Private Landowners to Increase Prescribed Fire Capacity
Speakers: Morgan Treadwell, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo, Jennifer Fawcett, North Carolina State Extension, and Brian Teeter, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever
Wednesday, Feb 28th, 12 PM Central
Register here: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkf-urrTMtE92oaWdNjDJKFqCdJ0HkH08G#/registration

SFE Webinar: Emerging Technologies in Wildland Fire
2024-02-29 13:00 - 14:00
A free one-hour webinar from The Nature Conservancy, the Southern Fire Exchange, and the University of Florida IFAS.
Society of American Foresters CFE Credit Expected.
Presenter:
Nathan Burmester, The Nature Conservancy of North Carolina
Webinar Description: Navigating the rapid advancements in technology can be challenging, especially for those immersed in the daily demands on the fireline. Join Nathan Burmester, representing TNC North Carolina, for a concise exploration of cutting-edge technologies employed by prescribed fire managers. Additionally, discover innovative applications of older technologies that are reshaping the landscape of fire management practices. Following the presentation there will be time for audience Q/A with the speaker.
Webinar Recording: If you can’t make the webinar, look for the recording to be posted on the Southern Fire Exchange YouTube Webinar Archive.
Questions? Contactus@southernfireexchange.org

Register for the webinar here: https://ufl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_S_DfsLDWRXSq0Vdy4LpaWQ

Partner Webinar: Beyond PM2.5: The Other Effects of Wildfires on Air and Water Quality
2024-03-19 15:00 - 16:00
March 19, 2024 from 3 to 4 p.m. ET
Beyond PM2.5: The Other Effects of Wildfires on Air and Water Quality
Register for the webinar
More information and previous webinars
Wildland fire smoke impacts millions of people in the US every year. While the negative impacts of PM2.5 on air quality and human health are well established, wildland fires mobilize other pollutants that impact EPA’s mission areas of clean air and clean water, with implications for human health. This webinar will discuss a wide range of effects of wildland fire on air and water quality, including emerging science on the topic (e.g., pollutants mobilized through the burning of human infrastructure). Finally, the webinar will discuss how this research can inform public communications on the risks of wildland fire and approaches to mitigate those risks.
Presenter: Steve LeDuc, Amara Holder, and Seth Newton, EPA’s Office of Research and Development
Moderators: Sherri Hunt, EPA’s Office of Research and Development
Attendees will have the option of receiving a certificate of attendance for live webinars. Acceptance of certificates is contingent on state and/or organization requirements—EPA cannot guarantee acceptance.

SFE Webinar: Increasing Large Wildfires in the Eastern United States
2024-03-28 13:00 - 14:00
A free one-hour webinar from the University of Florida IFAS and the Southern Fire Exchange.
Society of American Foresters CFE Credit Expected.
Presenter:
Victoria M Donovan, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Forest Management, School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida IFAS | West Florida Research and Education Center
Webinar Description: This webinar provides an overview of changing large wildfire regimes in the eastern U.S., highlighting increasing wildfire number, size, and total area burned within regions of the southeast. In addition, the presentation will discuss how changing wildfire dynamics impact public wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface. This presentation will summarize the findings from a recent publication (https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107051). Following the presentation, there will be time for audience Q/A with the speaker.
Webinar Recording: If you can’t make the webinar, look for the recording to be posted on the Southern Fire Exchange YouTube Webinar Archive.
Questions? Contactus@southernfireexchange.org
Register for the webinar here: https://ufl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5Jldn-K4SCOJmgTaUP-yBQ

Partner Webinar: Preparing for the “big one”: prescribed fire as a strategic fuel reduction tool
2024-04-02 12:00 - 13:30
Preparing for the “big one”: prescribed fire as a strategic fuel reduction tool
April 2, 2024 900 – 1030 PST | 1800 – 1930 CET
Hosted by the California Fire Science Consortium
Wildfires are becoming bigger and more severe around the world, overwhelming firefighters’ capacity to control them. Prescribed fires can be used to safely introduce fire in the landscape and regulate fire regimes through fuel management and by building landscape resilience. Is this approach working?
This week, four fire experts will discuss how fire and resource managers are using prescribed fire to prevent wildfire spread. They will discuss strategic goals and tactics, tradeoffs between broad landscape resilience and local fuel management, and whether prescribed fire intensities are enough to affect outcomes.
Presenters:

Tessa Oliver Manager of the Western Cape Umbrella Fire Protection Association, South Africa
Jorge Andres Saavedra Corporacion Nacional forestal, CONAF, Chile
Marta Miralles, Catalan Fire Service, Spain
Stephen Fillmore, Fuels Operations Specialist USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, USA

Register here.

Partner Webinar: California’s Prescribed Fire (R)evolution: Changing Hearts, Minds, and Landscapes
2024-04-02 17:00 - 18:00
5:00 PM ET, April 2, 2024
Hosted by the California Fires Science Consortium
Description: Prescribed fire has undergone major transformation in California over the last decade or two, evolving from a mostly agency-led practice with limited visibility to a statewide grassroots movement, engaging and being led by a diversity of partners, including NGOs, ranchers, Indigenous practitioners, and other community leaders. This movement has been simultaneously organic, bubbling up at the local level, and impressively strategic, pairing local community organizing with state-level liability changes, new qualifications pathways for practitioners, and major investments in cutting-edge concepts, like the state’s $20 million Prescribed Fire Claims Fund. The change during this period has been monumental, representing an evolution in the way we think about and implement prescribed fire in California, but it also represents a revolution—the result of a groundswell of passion, purpose, and pressure from the most affected communities. This presentation will share insights on California’s prescribed fire evolution/revolution, and reflect on where it might go from here.
Presenter: Lenya Quinn-Davidson is the Fire Network Director for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Lenya’s focus is on the human connection with fire, and increasing resiliency of California’s landscapes and communities. Lenya works at various scales, including locally with private landowners and communities members; at the state level, where she leads UCANR’s Fire Network and collaborates on policy, research, and community-based burning; and nationally/internationally, through her leadership on Women-in-Fire Training Exchanges (WTREX). Lenya is passionate about using fire to inspire and empower people, from ranchers and scientists to agency leaders and young women, and everyone in between.
Register Here

Partner Webinar: Responding to Climate Change through Silviculture in the East
2024-04-10 14:00 - 15:00
SCIENCEx ADAPTIVE SILVICULTURE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time

SCIENCEx Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change will address a variety of climate adaptive silviculture concepts, using examples from across the Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change Network. Presentations will cover an overview of the network, responding to climate change through silviculture, forest assisted migration, and expanding the application of adaptive silviculture. Webinar attendees will learn from a range of research scientists, managers, and other network collaborators.
The Forest Service Research and Development SCIENCEx webinar series unites scientists and land managers from across the Forest Service and beyond.

Webinar Description:

Climate impacts in eastern U.S. forests |​ Mike Gavazzi
Impacts of hurricane-driven disturbances at the Jones Center at Ichauway Adapted Silviculture for Climate Change site | Joshua Puhlick
Responding to climate-driven hydrologic change in an urban silviculture experiment | Marcella Windmuller-Campione

Register here.

Partner Webinar: Talking Fire - Learning from the Media
2024-04-24 13:00 - 14:30 | Online, United States
Learning from the Media: A Conversation with Journalists
Wednesday, April 24 1-2:30 PM ET
Hosted by the FLN and Fire Networks

Panelists:

April Ehrlich, Oregon Public Broadcasting
M.R. O’Connor, Ignition author and freelance journalist
Roberto Rosales, photojournalist & photography professor, University of New Mexico

The FLN and broader Fire Networks are excited to announce our upcoming Talking Fire Webinar Series. This 3-part series will feature panel discussions with communication experts and fire practitioners addressing various aspects of working with media outlets to communicate about our fire work. You can view information about the full series here: https://firenetworks.org/series/talking-fire-webinar-series/ Registration is required for each webinar.
Register for the webinar here.

Partner webinar: Sifting through selective science and misinformation for collaborative forest management
2024-04-24 15:00 - 16:00 | Online, United States
Sifting through selective science and misinformation for collaborative forest management
Apr 24, 2024, 03:00 PM
Hosted by: Rocky Mountain Research Station and Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes
Description: Join us for an upcoming land manager and public land partner-focused panel webinar dedicated to examining selective science use, some of the impacts to land management, and methods for reducing misinformation in collaborative forest management. Our panel will provide short talks on their perspectives, and address questions and issues provided by attendees. Discussion and Q&A during this session will facilitate information exchange between all attendees.
Registration and more information.

Partner Webinar: Towards Advancing the Prediction of Wildland Fuels Combustion through Detailed Kinetics
2024-04-30 17:00 - 18:00
5:00 PM ET April 30, 2024
Hosted by the California Fire Science Exchange
Abstract: Wildfires are becoming an increasing issue, raising concern about direct infrastructure and property damage as well as indirect effects related to their emissions. In this context, a fundamental understanding of the burning processes of wildland fuels is crucial for the modeling and prediction of both fire behavior as well as related emissions. Current fuel consumption parameterizations used in wildfire models usually oversimplify fuel consumption processes, such as flaming and smoldering combustion regimes, and fuel properties, like fuel elements’ size and moisture content. In this seminar, a physics-based modeling framework developed to describe biomass combustion and emissions will be presented. Biomass is represented through its fundamental constituents, such as lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, water, and extractives. A detailed reaction kinetic model is coupled with a multi-region single-particle model and is adopted to investigate the process of biomass degradation, including char oxidation. The validation of the modeling framework with experimental data from literature is performed at various scales, including thermogravimetric experiments and particle-scale experiments of pyrolysis and combustion. Additionally, preliminary results of its applicability for the construction of detailed parameterizations for large-scale wildfire applications, such as WRF-SFIRE coupled atmosphere-fire model, will be discussed.
Presenter: Chiara Saggese received her PhD in Industrial Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Politecnico of Milan in 2015. After working as a postdoctoral fellow on experiments and kinetic modeling of real fuel combustion chemistry and emissions at Stanford University, she joined the Reaction Dynamics Group in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2019. Her research activity spans from the development of kinetic models of conventional and sustainable fuels to the kinetic modeling of pollutants formation in combustion processes. Within the current transition to a decarbonized transportation system, she is focusing on modeling soot formation from sustainable aviation fuels. Lately, her research focus has expanded to the investigation of wildland fuels combustion and emissions to inform sub-models present in large-scale wildfire applications.
Register here.

SFE Webinar: Hot Spots and Hot Moments in Prescribed Fire Across the SE US
2024-05-02 13:00 - 14:00
A free one-hour webinar from Tall Timbers Research Station, the Southern Fire Exchange, and the University of Florida IFAS.
Society of American Foresters CFE Credit Expected.
Presenter: Karen Cummins, Geospatial Database Administrator, Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy
Webinar Description: Prescribed fire is an important land conservation tool to meet ecological, cultural, and public safety objectives across terrestrial ecosystems. While estimates of prescribed burning in the U.S. exceed 11 million acres annually, tracking the extent of prescribed fire is problematic for several reasons and prevents an understanding of spatial and temporal trends in landscape patterns of prescribed fires. The overall purpose of the Southeastern US Prescribed Fire Permit Database is to temporally map and analyze the frequency of prescribed burns throughout the southeast. The database revealed that burning is highly concentrated within the southeast region, presumably reflecting local land ownership categories and associated land management objectives. These analyses provide the first region-wide summary of fine-scale patterns of prescribed fire in the United States. Following the presentation there will be time for audience Q/A with the speaker.
Webinar Recording: If you can’t make the webinar, look for the recording to be posted on the Southern Fire Exchange YouTube Webinar Archive.
Questions? Contactus@southernfireexchange.org

Registration information here.

Partner Webinar: Talking Fire - Working with the Media
2024-05-30 13:00 - 14:30
Working with the Media: How to Know Your Messages and Communicate Them
Thursday, May 30 1-2:30 PM ET
Hosted by The FLN and Fire Networks
Communication professionals and fire practitioners with significant media experience will discuss challenges and success in communicating about fire through media outlets. Panelists will share their experiences and provide suggestions for those looking to begin or improve communication through various forms of media.
Following a moderated panel discussion, there will be time for audience Q/A.
Panelists:

Lorena Williams is a Public Affairs Specialist and Public Information Officer for the San Juan National Forest in Colorado.

Bob Crimian is a program manager for COMPASS, a science communication organization that champions, connects, and supports diverse scientist leaders to improve the well-being of people and nature.

Eytan Krasilovsky is the deputy director for the Forest Stewards Guild based out of the Southwest office

Questions? Laurel.kays@tnc.org
Register here: https://tnc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BVt24vgLTwW3BWL_mV3qIg
Series Description:
The FLN and broader Fire Networks are excited to announce our upcoming Talking Fire Webinar Series. This 3-part series will feature panel discussions with communication experts and fire practitioners addressing various aspects of working with media outlets to communicate about our fire work. You can view information about the full series here: https://firenetworks.org/series/talking-fire-webinar-series/ Registration is required for each webinar.

Partner Webinar: Crisis Communication - What do we say when things go wrong?
2024-06-26 13:00 - 14:30 | Online, United States
Crisis Communication: What Do We Say When Things Go Wrong?
Thursday, June 26 1-2:30 PM ET
Hosted by The FLN and Fire Networks
Communication professionals and fire practitioners with significant media experience will discuss challenges and success in communicating about fire through media outlets. Panelists will share their experiences and provide suggestions for those looking to begin or improve communication through various forms of media.
Following a moderated panel discussion, there will be time for audience Q/A.
Panelists:

Brigette Coleman-Williams, TNC Arkansas Director of Marketing and Communications

Jenifer Bunty, National Forests in North Carolina Public Affairs Specialist

Katie Sauerbrey, The Nature Conservancy in Oregon Fire Program Director

Parker Titus, The Nature Conservancy in Colorado Fire Program Manager

Questions? Laurel.kays@tnc.org
Register here: https://tnc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6kKUNcsOSaSc3YGMKsh6ig#/registration
Series Description:
The FLN and broader Fire Networks are excited to announce our upcoming Talking Fire Webinar Series. This 3-part series will feature panel discussions with communication experts and fire practitioners addressing various aspects of working with media outlets to communicate about our fire work. You can view information about the full series here: https://firenetworks.org/series/talking-fire-webinar-series/ Registration is required for each webinar.

Partner Webinar: Managing Longleaf for our Future - A new Longleaf Pine Climate Smart Guide
2024-09-11 13:00 - 14:00 | Virtual
Hosted by: The Nature Conservancy, The Longleaf Alliance, and Clemson University
Description: In this webinar for landowners and forestry practitioners, experts from multiple agencies in the southeast will provide context as to why longleaf pine is a climate-smart species, and what management practices make a climate-smart forest. Presenters will provide an overview of the guide and give information on the technical resources and financial assistance available to help any landowners begin or enhance their longleaf pine forest.
Registration Link
Webinar Flier (pdf)

Partner Webinar: Post-Fire Emergency Assessment Processes (Part 1)
2024-09-11 16:00 - 17:00 | Virtual
Host: Coalitions and Collaboratives Inc., USDA Forest Service and others.
Description: Flooding and debris flows can be one of the most damaging and deadly processes of the post-fire landscape. Burned area emergency rapid assessments determine the level of threat posed by post-fire conditions to critical values within and downstream of the burned area and develop appropriate actions to manage unacceptable risk. The BAER assessment team evaluates the effects of the ﬁre on the landscape and estimates the potential risk to life and safety, as well as risk of damage or loss to critical transportation infrastructure. Satellite-derived data, field observations, and predictive modeling help to inform post-fire hazard-mitigation efforts. Field verification of remotely sensed data and professional evaluation of conditions on the ground are critical for post-fire management. In the first of two webinars, we will discuss the post-fire assessment process used for the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program and how it has been adapted to help rapidly determine post-fire emergency situations using case studies from the United States, Greece, Portugal, and Canada. The second webinar is intended to be a more interactive session to discuss ways in which the process can be used or adapted to meet a wide range of needs outside of federal government.
Series Website: https://aftertheflames.com/post-fire-emergency-assessment-processes/
Registration Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NphXMFI4T5KKJASUeFe3DA#/registration

Partner Webinar: Post-Fire Emergency Assessment Processes (Part 2)
2024-09-12 16:00 - 17:00 | Virtual
Host: Coalitions and Collaboratives Inc., USDA Forest Service and others.
Description: Flooding and debris flows can be one of the most damaging and deadly processes of the post-fire landscape. Burned area emergency rapid assessments determine the level of threat posed by post-fire conditions to critical values within and downstream of the burned area and develop appropriate actions to manage unacceptable risk. The BAER assessment team evaluates the effects of the ﬁre on the landscape and estimates the potential risk to life and safety, as well as risk of damage or loss to critical transportation infrastructure. Satellite-derived data, field observations, and predictive modeling help to inform post-fire hazard-mitigation efforts. Field verification of remotely sensed data and professional evaluation of conditions on the ground are critical for post-fire management. The second webinar is intended to be a more interactive session to discuss ways in which the process can be used or adapted to meet a wide range of needs outside of federal government.
Series Website: https://aftertheflames.com/post-fire-emergency-assessment-processes/
Registration Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_thwa4DkLR3munrDe_Oe97g#/registration

Partner Webinar: Fire Weather Portal for the Southeast
2024-09-24 10:00 - 11:00 | Online, United States
The Southeast Climate monthly webinar series is held on the 4th Tuesday of each month at 10:00 am ET. This series is hosted by the Southeast Regional Climate Center (SERCC), the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), and the NOAA National Weather Service. These webinars provide the region with timely information on current and developing climate conditions such as drought, floods, and tropical storms, as well as climatic events like El Niño and La Niña. Speakers may also discuss the impacts of these conditions on topics such as agriculture production, water resources, wildfires and ecosystems.
The September 24th meeting will feature a presentation on the “Fire Weather Portal for the Southeast” by Corey Davis with the North Carolina State Climate Office.
Register for the webinar.

Partner Webinar: Underplanting Longleaf Pine: The ecology behind this regeneration technique & lessons learned from a case study in Georgia
2024-11-14 12:30 - 13:45
Hosted by The Longleaf Alliance
Speakers: Nathan Klaus, Georgia DNR and Dr. Joan Walker, USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (Retired)
Registration Link
Underplanting is the practice of introducing a new generation of trees under an existing overstory. This could be done to convert the stand to a different species, sometimes called “conversion with retention.” It can also be done with seedlings of the same species as the overstory if a multi-aged stand is desired, but natural regeneration is insufficient to achieve this structure. Some questions to be addressed: Why plant longleaf pine seedlings under an existing pine canopy? Is it possible to establish a longleaf pine stand without clearcutting? What preparation is needed for converting loblolly pine stands to longleaf pine dominance? How does one manage an underplanted stand to reduce damage and encourage growth?

This webinar has been postponed from the original date of September 26, 2024 to November 14, 2024.
Many landowners are interested in restoring native longleaf pine forests for the diverse values they provide, for wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, and valuable forest products and services.
When landowners want to establish longleaf pine, traditional approaches would indicate clearcutting followed by planting nursery-grown seedlings. The practice of underplanting would avoid a clearcut-and-replant sequence, and instead favor thinning the overstory to a target basal area, and planting longleaf under that remaining canopy. Similar goals might be met with planting in natural or created openings or gaps.
This approach keeps the look of a forest, rather than the poor aesthetics of a clearcut, an important consideration for some.
Retaining the overstory structure is not just for looks; it provides habitat for a diversity of wildlife that may use every part of the stand from the groundcover layer to the developing sapling class of trees to the upper reaches of the canopy.
Even if conversion to longleaf pine is desired, an existing canopy could be providing current value that the landowner does not want to forfeit. For example, if the loblolly stand is young, premature harvest would reduce the landowner’s return on investment needed to establish it.
Retaining the overstory trees also secures a fuel source in the form of pine needle litter, allowing for prescribed burning to continue. Maintaining fine fuels to carry fire can be difficult in other replanting scenarios if the groundcover is depleted following comprehensive herbicide applications or ground disturbing site preparations.
Part I of the program will introduce the dynamics of various canopy cover scenarios for longleaf pine regeneration, from Joan Walker, US Forest Service Southern Research Station (Retired).
Part II will take viewers through an underplanting project and examine the benefits and possible limitations of this technique, as well as provide real-world guidance for managing stand activities, with Nathan Klaus, Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Questions will be taken by both presenters following the presentation.

Partner Webinar: How will future climate change impact prescribed fire across the contiguous United States?
2024-12-04 13:00 - 14:00
How will future climate change impact prescribed fire across the contiguous United States?
Dr. Alex Jonko, Computation Earth Science, Los Alamos National Laboratory
December 4, 2024, 1 pm (ET)

Hosted by: LANDFIRE and Los Alamos National Laboratory

REGISTER HERE

The use of prescribed fire to manage ecosystems is increasing across the United States, but climate change threatens to impact future opportunities for prescribed fire as a result of changes in meteorological conditions and fuels. I will discuss the results of a recent study which combined prescription information from 80 sites across the US with LANDFIRE fuels data and downscaled future climate projections to evaluate how climate change will impact future availability of burn days. Our results indicate that rising maximum temperatures may lead to decreases in burn days across the eastern US, while rising minimum temperatures and decreasing wind speeds may lead to increased opportunities for prescribed fire in the northern and northwestern US.

Related research publication: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-024-00649-7

Webinar: Prescribed Fire and Wetlands - an Important but Rarely Told Story
2024-12-12 11:00 - 12:30 | Online, United States
Prescribed Fire and Wetlands: an Important but Rarely Told Story

Photo Credit: Jack McGowan-Stinski, Lake States Fire Science Consortium

Hosted by the Fueling Collaboration partners
Thursday, December 12, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Wetlands are the forgotten sibling of the prescribed fire world. While upland ecosystems across the Eastern U.S. have received significant attention for their fire-dependency, wetlands—characterized by their more episodic encounters with fire—rarely receive equitable fire management investments. Fire managers face unique challenges in these environments, where hydric soils, muck, and dense vegetation can prolong smoke production, encourage smoldering, and hinder vehicle access. As a result, fire-dependent wetlands nationwide have suffered, leading to declines in numerous plant and animal species. In this Fueling Collaboration panel discussion, we will explore the role of fire in various wetland ecosystems and examine the challenges and opportunities associated with its use. Join us as we hear from scientists, land managers, and biologists working in pocosins, marshes, swamps, bogs, and isolated wetlands.
​Registration is required. Register here!
A panel discussion featuring:

Jim Cox – Jim Cox is a Beadel Fellow at Tall Timbers Research Station in north Florida. The early part of his career was spent identifying sites in Florida where habitat conservation efforts were needed to help sustain rare wildlife. The second half of his career has focused on assessing the importance of prescribed fire in maintaining habitat for rare species. Since 2020, Cox has collaborated with biologists across 5 southeastern states in a NOAA-sponsored study investigating the application of prescribed fire in coastal wetlands. Known as the Firebird Project, the work focuses on high marshes and other wetlands important to Mottled Duck, Seaside Sparrow, Yellow Rail, and the imperiled Black Rail.​

Jana Mott – Jana Mott has been working for The Nature Conservancy since 2002 in a variety of roles including fire and restoration technician, burn boss, and wetland restoration specialist. In her role as a wetland restoration specialist from 2011-present, she worked with partners to coordinate isolated ephemeral wetland restoration on the Apalachicola National Forest.

​Ben Walker (Panelist) – Ben Walker is an Inventory and Monitoring Field Biologist at Glacial Ridge and Rydell National Wildlife Refuges in northwestern Minnesota. In this role, Ben manages Refuge lands while collaborating with other stations and partners on biological monitoring, data and GIS analysis, and regional pilot projects. Throughout his career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ben has focused on restoring and managing habitats for species of special concern in the Midwest. Recently, he has worked alongside Refuge fire crews to develop large-scale management strategies for prairie-wetland complexes, integrating remote sensors and rapid monitoring techniques to enhance conservation efforts.

Adam Warwick – Adam grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of Tennessee and then obtained a Master’s of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife from the University of Missouri. He then spent 10 years with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in overseeing wildlife management and supporting burning for Tate’s Hell State Forest. Adam led the agency’s response to regional human-bear conflicts and a highlight of his career was coauthoring FWC’s Black Bear Management Plan. Adam Warwick has been overseeing The Nature Conservancy’s land stewardship in western North Carolina since 2012. The majority of his time and efforts has been devoted to scaling up prescribed burning on public lands to restore open woodlands to the southern Blue Ridge’s pine and oak ecosystems. To that end, he developed TNC burn program; at the core is an innovative 25-person ‘call-when-needed’ crew which has been modeled across the USA. This crew travels over four states to help partners restore fire to thousands of acres of Appalachian forests including five national forests as well state forests, parks, and wildlife management areas and municipal watersheds. Adam is a NWCG Type 2 Burn Boss, and the NC Prescribed Fire Council recognized Adam as the Prescribed Burner of the Year in 2022. Adam dedicates time to helping deliver science to land managers and anyone interested in conservation. He recently wrote the Fire Manager’s Guide to the Southern Blue Ridge Ecozones and Considerations for Fire and Wildlife in the Southern Blue Ridge to further this effort. Adam has led multiple landscape teams on behalf of the Southern Blue Ridge Fire Learning Network. He has previously led the Bog Learning Network and now cooperates with agency partners to protect bog turtles on TNC preserves. He lives in Mills River, NC with his wife, Joyce, and 13 year old daughter Cameron; two Australian shepherds and two cats. In his spare time, Adam enjoys fishing, hunting, whitewater kayaking, and mountain biking.

Webinar: Northern Bobwhite and Prescribed Fire: a Review and Synthesis
2025-01-07 14:00 - 15:00 | Online, United States
Presented by: Dr. James Martin, University of Georgia
Hosted by: Oak Woodlands and Forests Fire Consortium and Southern Fire Exchange
Date: January 7, 2025, 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET
Register here (required): https://umsystem.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYvfuuurzktE9xjeeuhcP_HHawLEVgxlY6a
This webinar will include research associated with the publication:
Weber, D. A., E. P. Tanner, T. M. Terhune II, J. M. Varner, and J. A. Martin. 2022. Northern bobwhite and prescribed fire: a review and synthesis. National Quail Symposium Proceedings 9:306–319. https://doi.org/10.7290/nqsp09V0ju.

Webinar: Expanding the Fuels Planning Toolkit - Terrestrial Laser Scanning and 3D Fuels Characterization for Improved Wildland Fire Decision Support
2025-01-16 11:00 - 12:30
Photo Credit: MC Murphy, USFS Southern Research Station

PANEL DISCUSSION:
Hosted by: Fueling Collaboration Partners
Date: Thursday, January 16, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Register here: More information and registration
Description: Wildland fire managers require an expanded toolbox for decision support in the context of an increasingly novel fuel and fire environment complicated by a changing climate, invasive species encroachment, and rapid increase in wildland-urban interface in many areas within the U.S. Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) offers an efficient, cost-effective, and powerful tool for characterizing high resolution, sub-canopy forest and fuel structural conditions with the simple press of a button. In this panel discussion, TLS subject matter experts from both research and operations will share their efforts and practical applications of TLS and other 3D wildland fuels characterization tools for improved wildland fire planning, fire effects monitoring, and decision support. This panel discussion has been approved for 1.5 Category 1 CFE’s by the Society of American Foresters.

Brett Williams (Moderator)Brett Williams is a Technology Transfer Specialist and Research Liaison for the U.S. Forest Service Southern Region Fire & Aviation Management. He also serves as the Working Group Lead for the Eastern Innovation Landscape Network (EILN), an interagency partnership working in the eastern U.S. to accelerate adoption of wildland fire science innovations through intentional co-production between fire practitioners and fire scientists. Brett has over 20 years of experience in wildland fire management, prescribed fire planning and implementation, and fire effects monitoring, is qualified as a Type 2 Burn Boss (RXB2) and is a Long-term Fire Analyst trainee (LTAN(T)). Brett earned a BS in Environmental Science and a MS in Forest Science from Stephen F. Austin State University in East Texas.

Dr. Michael Gallagher (Panelist)Dr. Michael Gallagher is a Research Ecologist and a Team Leader in the US Forest Service Northern Research Station’s Climate, Fire, and Carbon Cycle Science Research Work Unit and is located in the New Jersey Pine Barrens at the Silas Little Experimental Forest, where he is also Scientist in Charge. Gallagher’s current work focuses on integrating terrestrial lidar approaches into fuels inventorying and ecological monitoring as well as developing better knowledge about fire behavior phenomena like embers and smoke emissions to better inform fire simulation tools. Gallagher is also an active wildland firefighter of 17 years with a red card and single resource qualifications and aspires to one day be able to say he’s done a prescribed burn in every state. In his free time, he loves home improvement projects, helping coach little league baseball, and canoeing.

Emily Link (Panelist)Emily Link is the regional fire ecologist for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region. She has worked coordinating the terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) program within USFWS in the Southeast since 2021. Emily is also involved in the development of TLS training, training individuals across the country and within different agencies. Emily is an airborne LiDAR technician, operating the sensor from a fixed-wing plane, collecting data for refuges and national forests in the Southeast.

Dr. Louise Loudermilk (Panelist)Dr. Loudermilk is a Research Ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service, Southern Research Station and currently serves as the Fire Team Leader of the Athens Prescribed Fire Science Laboratory. Her work focuses on advancing science to support prescribed fire management and fire effects monitoring using advancing technology. She uses terrestrial (TLS) and aerial laser scanning (ALS) to measure fuels and ecosystems in 3D, particularly for supporting monitoring needs. An integral part of her work is building streamlined approaches to incorporating laser scanning and fuels data into ecosystem process models and next-generation 3D fire behavior models. She also uses ecosystem modeling techniques to estimate long-term changes in tree species composition and landscape carbon flux. This is widely used from regional climate vulnerability assessments to local management decision support. She aims to bridge gaps between science, technology, and management through co-production, all to support everyday applications of prescribed fire, ecosystem management, and long-term decision-making. Dr. Loudermilk received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Forestry and Ecology from the University of Florida.

Dr. Russ Parsons (Panelist)Dr. Russ Parsons is a Research Ecologist with the USFS RMRS Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, MT. Russ received his B.S. in Forestry from U.C. Berkeley, in 1992, his M.S. in Forest Resources at the University of Idaho in 1999, and his Ph.D. in Forestry at the University of Montana in 2007. His research work at the Missoula fire lab spans multiple time and space scales, ranging from landscape fire and vegetation simulation modeling to highly detailed 3D fuel and physics-based fire modeling, including 3D fuel models at tree scales (FUEL3D) and stand scales (STANDFIRE). Russ and his partners have developed FastFuels, a prototype 3D fuel modeling system to accelerate access to and use of advanced fire models and to facilitate stronger analysis in fuel management, from local projects to regional scales. Russ is excited to be part of this event and looks forward to discussion and building collaborations with new partners.

Dr. Susan Prichard (Panelist)Dr. Susan Prichard is a fire ecologist and has worked as a research scientist for over 20 years at the University of Washington School of Environmental and Forest Sciences. Her main interests are in the effects of fire and other disturbances on forest dynamics, climate change on forest ecosystems, and fuel treatment options to mitigate fire severity and smoke impacts in fire-prone forests.
