The Southern Area Burn Boss Refresher RT-300 will be held at the Chattanooga, Convention Center in Chattanooga, TN. Event registration can be found here. Additional information for organizations interested in participating can be found here. Another update from 7/15/21 can be found here.
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South Carolina Prescribed Fire Council Meeting
The 2021 South Carolina Prescribed Fire Council Meeting will be held virtually via Zoom on September 15, 2021. Free registration here. More information and an agenda will be posted on the South Carolina Prescribed Fire Council website.
Continue ReadingNorth Atlantic Prescribed Fire Science Workshop
Continue ReadingSYNOPSISThe last year has posed unimaginable challenges to fire scientists, managers, and wildland firefighters. We are thrilled to have a plan to reconnect in person!Field trips to New Jersey Pine Barrens sites will stimulate discussion about regional prescribed fire science challenges and solutions. The workshop day will build a structure for region-wide prescribed fire science co-production and post-workshop coordination.
Join us for a three-day experience in a camp environment outdoors, at YMCA of the Pines in Medford Township, New Jersey. Spend time in the field with fellow fire science stakeholders. Get your thoughts working in the amazing classroom of New Jersey’s prescribed fire landscape. We anticipate that registration costs will be $55 per person per day, which will include meals, refreshments, and on-site lodging (exact cost will be billed closer to the workshop date). We recommend registering for all three days of this workshop, but full registration is not required. Travel cost assistance is available; please email NAFSEhelp@gmail.com for details.
Agenda:
- Registration closes Monday, August 23 at 11:59 p.m. EDT
- Day 0, Mon 9/13: Arrival, optional dinner (not provided) with other participants at a local restaurant
- Day 1, Tues 9/14: NJ Pine Barrens field trip, including Silas Little Experimental Forest, Coyle Airfield, and other local spots of interest
- Day 2, Wed 9/15: Workshop day, including facilitated discussion of prescribed fire science needs and solutions in the North Atlantic region
- Day 3, Thurs 9/16: Field trip to “Small Timbers,” a fire-managed private forest on part of cranberry farm
Please reply to this email if you have questions!
Workshop information is also available on our website.
SFE Webinar Recording: Attitudes Towards Restoration of a Threatened Ecosystem in the South
The recording of the SFE webinar from the end of June is now live on the SFE YouTube Webinar Archive. While the title mentions pine barrens, this webinar is all about landowner perspectives on restoration practices and efforts related to the native longleaf pine ecosystem.
Videos Explore the Native Ground Cover of the Longleaf Pine Ecosystem
A team from the Longleaf Alliance and the University of Clemson Cooperative Extension recently created a three-part video series exploring the native ground cover of the xeric longleaf pine ecosystem. These great videos explain how fire is an important tool for managing the diverse and interesting. Check out the videos, share them with your local landowners, and learn about this fire-dependent Southeastern ecosystem.
NWS Tampa Florida Weather Workouts
The National Weather Service office in Tampa, Florida has recently developed a series of short presentations that explore specific Florida weather topics. For fire and land managers in Florida, these “Weather Workouts” cover:
Sea Breeze Thunderstorms
Rip Currents
Hurricane Climatology and Flooding
Storm Surge and River Forecasting
NWS Online Tools and Services
Nws Damage Surveys and Forecast Models
El Nino, La Nina, Arctic Oscillation, and Super Fog
These short presentations may be useful additions to your next team meeting or RT-130 annual fireline refresher.
Prescribed Fire Smoke and Community Health: Successes from Smoke Ready Communities
The Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network (FACNet) recently shared a recording of a series of panel presentations discussing planning for community smoke impacts from prescribed fire programs. The recording is on YouTube and also embedded below.
Western Wildfire News Coverage
As Western wildfires continue, various news outlets continue to cover the fires, their causes, and fire management more broadly. Below are some recently published stories.
Meet the people burning California to save it (New York Times)
Beetles, drought, and fires are a ticking time bomb in the West (Vox)
For FEMA head, trip to wildfire regions reaffirms drive to address climate change (Axios)
Continue ReadingSFE Reddit AMA with Dr. Rae Crandall
On July 29th, Southern Fire Exchange’s Dr. Rae Crandall will be live on Reddit’s “I Am A” page answering questions about wildland fire. She has experience as a wildland firefighter in the West, a fire ecology researcher at the University Florida, and a prescribed fire practitioner across the US, so be sure to ask her anything about wildland fire!
More about Dr. Crandall:
“I am a forestry professor at the University of Florida who studies the effects of wildland fire on plants. Some people call me a pyromaniac, because I love to light prescribed fires as much as I love to measure and study plants. As an undergraduate student, I volunteered on a prescribed fire, “caught the fire bug”, and have been passionate about teaching others about the benefits of prescribed fire ever since. I have worked as a wildland firefighter in the West, and as a fire lighter across many states of the U.S. Ask me anything about wildland fire!
I am also the mother of two young boys, who enjoy going hiking and learning about the positive effects of using prescribed fire for management of our natural areas.”
You can learn more about Dr. Crandall’s research here.
Continue ReadingSmoke Pollution from Prescribed Burns vs. Wildfires
A recent JSTOR Daily article addresses issues related to air quality policies for prescribed fire and wildfire smoke.
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