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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RT-300 / Burn Boss Refresher Update
See below for a timely update from the planning team responsible for the upcoming Southern Area RT-300 / Burn Boss Refresher event coming up November 29th – December 2nd in Chattanooga, TN. Registration and more information.
We invite you and your organization to participate in the 2021 Southern Area Interagency Prescribed Fire Training for Burn Bosses and Agency Administrators which will be held November 29 – December 2, 2021 at the Chattanooga Convention Center, Chattanooga TN.
The key word this year is interagency – and that means more than just federal agencies. We are welcoming federal, state, tribes, non-government organizations, academia; really anyone who participates in prescribed burning to attend. Yes, the various agency requirements for certification normally included at RT-300 will be covered but there is so much more to the 2021 event. This year we have curriculum for agency administrators as well as burn bosses. Plus, this event provides an opportunity to share the latest and greatest technology, information, techniques and successes within the prescribed fire community. The event is meant to be a learning experience for all that attend, an opportunity to build relationships, and discuss key issues in prescribed fire, monitoring and ecosystem management and restoration. The workshop is organized conference-style, and all participates will pre-register for a subset of sessions over 3 days.
How can you and your organization participate?
- Register and participate in the training: This training will include multiple sessions covering over 20 topicsincluding monitoring, ecosystem management, firing techniques, risk decision making, working with the public and writing better burn plans. Plan to arrive in Chattanooga on November 29 to sign in. Register Here.
- Display posters about your organization or programs: Use this opportunity to relay your organization’s mission, recruit personnel or share your accomplishments. Posters will be displayed throughout the convention center and will not be staffed.
- Informational Poster: Agencies and organizations, please take this opportunity to brag about your program and accomplishments. Your agency or group may be sponsoring a contest for the best poster submission!
- Research Poster: We don’t want you to create a new poster, but rather reuse posters you have created for other meetings or conferences and share them with a new audience. You do not need to attend to share your poster.
Contact Beth Buchanan at beth.buchanan@usda.gov for more information on poster displays. Sorry, your material cannot be returned but we may redisplay it at future events.
- Information Tables and Technology Room Booths: We are hosting information tables and a technology room where you can interact with attendees throughout the event.
- Information tables with brochures, displays or handouts will be located throughout the center and students can visit during breaks and lunch.
- The Technology Room will be a session that participants can enroll in allowing them several hours dedicated to learning about the latest technologies of their choice. If you have tools or software that would best be explained in an individual or small-group session, please sign up to demo in the Tech Room.
Contact George Custer at ghcuster@gmail.com if you have questions about booths. George can help determine the best use of your information at a Tech Room booth or information table.
To contribute a poster please go to this link Posters
To provide an information booth use this link Information Booth
And if you’d like to join the Tech Room, use this link Tech Room
We look forward to having representation from all the organizations, agencies, partners and researchers who support prescribed fire in the southern area!
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RX-310 – Introduction to Fire Effects
July 12 – 16, 2021
Penn State University
State College, PA
Nominations have been extended – due by June 30, 2021.
Request and then submit the nomination form by email to jcase@tnc.org
Course Description
This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to recognize and communicate the relationships between basic fire regimes and fire effects, the effects of fire treatments
on fire effects, and to manipulate fire treatments to achieve desired fire effects.
In an effort to maintain the currency and relevancy of the course materials for RX-310, Introduction to Fire Effects the instructional design has been modified to allow instructors to develop materials based on current information, changing technologies, and the needs of the students.
Objectives
- Demonstrate an understanding of fire as an ecological process using the concepts of fire regimes
and first order fire effects at multiple scales. - Identify realistic management solutions in an adaptive management framework.
- Communicate effectively with fire and resource professionals based on a common understanding
of first order fire effects. - Demonstrate an understanding of how fire management related resource issues interact.
- Demonstrate an understanding of how to manipulate treatments to achieve desired first order fire
effects.
Target Group
Fire and resource specialists involved in fire related decision-making. Interdisciplinary team resource advisors or prescribed fire crew member working toward burn boss, or other prescribed fire positions.
Course Prerequisites
- Working knowledge of fire behavior.
- Understanding of basic ecological principles.
- Satisfactory completion of pre-course work.
Pre-Course Work
This instructor-led course has pre-course work (estimate 2 hours).
Cost
Tuition for the course is $250 for council members and $300 for non-members.
Lodging and Meals
Information on lodging will be included with the pre-course work. No meals will be provided.
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RX-410: Smoke Management Techniques
This course leads students through the ecological and historical role of fire, characteristics of smoke and the health, safety and visibility impacts of smoke. Other topics include public relations, legal requirements, meteorology, fuel consumption, smoke production dispersion, and operational smoke management strategies. This course is designed to be interactive in nature. It contains a panel discussion, several exercises designed to facilitate group and class participation and case studies from a variety of fuel types and political challenges. The Pre course work assignment is designed to familiarize students with the NWCG Smoke Management Guide for Prescribed Fire, PMS 420-2, and air quality regulations that impact prescribed fire programs.
This online version of RX-410 has been produced by an interagency group of smoke professionals.
Full information and registration here.
Continue ReadingFirescaping Workshop: Preparing for Wildfires
WHERE: Live Online (Zoom)
WHEN: June 9, 16, 23, & 30, 9am – 11am each day (8 hours total; must attend all for certificate). If you cannot attend all sessions, please reconsider your enrollment to allow for others to attend.
FEE: $24
CAPACITY: 60 attendees; Registration closes May 31st or when capacity is reached.
INSTRUCTORS:
Holly Campbell, Public Service Assistant, UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Ludie Bond, Fire Mitigation Specialist, Florida Forest Service
Tanya Anderson, Wildland Fire Prevention Officer, Baker County Fire Rescue
Zachary Prusak, Florida Fire Manager/CFL Program Manager, The Nature Conservancy
OVERVIEW:
Every year hundreds to thousands of wildfires occur across Florida and the southeastern US, threatening both residents and their homes. Fortunately, there are actions residents can take, such as firescaping, to help reduce their wildfire risk.
Join us for an exciting new training aimed at educating and empowering Master Gardener Volunteers, Master Naturalists, other Extension volunteers, and community leaders to make an impact and help protect Florida homes from wildfire.
The 8-hour training (2 hours per week for 4 weeks) includes a blend of presentations, “hands-on” activities, and discussions. The training will introduce participants to Florida fire history and behavior, plant flammability, firescaping design, home wildfire risk assessment, and tips for combining firescaping with other landscape objectives. The training also includes recommended volunteer opportunities and materials.
All sessions must be attended to receive the certificate of completion. The knowledge participants gain from this training can be used to educate their communities on firescaping and other wildfire risk reduction measures.
MORE INFORMATION: Dr. Shelly Johnson, SSA, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Extension @ Shelly.Johnson@ufl.edu
Continue ReadingRX-341/301 Prescribed Fire Preparation & Implementation
Objectives
- Describe prescribed fire planning policies and guidelines.
- Identify & describe the processes involved in preparing a prescribed fire plan.
- Develop, defend, & review a prescribed fire burn plan for technical accuracy.
Fire and Fuels Monitoring Virtual Training Workshop
Co-hosted by Lakes States Fire Science Consortium and Oak Woodlands & Forests Fire Consortium
Lead Instructor: Brian Stearns, Huron-Manistee National Forests
This 4-day, virtual- and field-based training is open to all professional affiliations, and will introduce participants to:
- Tools for selecting metrics that match management/restoration objectives
- Developing site-specific protocols for sampling
- Developing a monitoring handbook and monitoring protocols/program for your local ecosystems
- How to establish long-term monitoring and quantitative/qualitative data for wildfire risk assessment
- Evaluating the need for prescribed burns and other fuels treatments
Field measurements will be conducted independently on home units, then data will be analyzed in the virtual classroom setting.
Attendance is limited. To register, contact Joe Marschall ASAP at oakfirescience@gmail.com. No registration fee.
Continue ReadingRX-410: Smoke Management Techniques
This course leads students through the ecological and historical role of fire, characteristics of smoke and the health, safety and visibility impacts of smoke. Other topics include public relations, legal requirements, meteorology, fuel consumption, smoke production dispersion, and operational smoke management strategies. This course is designed to be interactive in nature. It contains a panel discussion, several exercises designed to facilitate group and class participation and case studies from a variety of fuel types and political challenges. The Pre course work assignment is designed to familiarize students with the NWCG Smoke Management Guide for Prescribed Fire, PMS 420-2, and air quality regulations that impact prescribed fire programs.
This online version of RX-410 has been produced by an interagency group of smoke professionals.
Full information and registration here.
Continue ReadingUsing Soil Moisture Information to Better Understand and Predict Wildfire Danger: A Symposium for Researchers and Fire Managers
This free online symposium will highlight the latest advances in using soil moisture information to better understand and predict wildfire danger. These recent discoveries are revealing the potential for soil moisture estimates from in situ monitoring stations, remote sensing, and models to improve fire danger predictions and to advance our understanding of fire behavior.
This interactive symposium will provide researchers and fire managers a unique opportunity to connect with others, to learn about ongoing research in this area, and to discuss ways to move forward with new research and end uses.
The symposium will run from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. CDT and from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. CDT on May 6, 2021.
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Upcoming Trainings: Smoke Management, Prescribed Fire Planning
RX-301/341 and RX-410 will be offered in May and June.
These sessions include self-paced (asynchronous) material that students can complete ahead of time as well as virtual sessions with instructors to create a better adult learning experience and more flexibility for busy schedules.
Note – for RX 301/341 the lead instructor is requesting that 1 coach is provided for each 5 students in the course. Coaches must be an RXB2 or burn boss equivalent within their Agency’s requirements and be able to speak to the Agency’s specific requirements. Coaches roles will include:
- Review the course content
- Lead discussion in a group of students during breakout rooms
- Answer questions from the students outside of the breakout rooms
- Evaluate the students and give recommendation on pass/fail
Individuals who do not have access to a coach can still apply and may be accepted based on availability.
Those with questions can contact Jennifer Mueller, jennifer@emberalliance.
