Webinar
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Passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Strategy signal a new era of historic investments in ecosystem restoration and wildfire risk reduction in the western U.S. But as initial projects and implementation plans are announced, the opportunities for community-based prescribed fire practitioners and advocates to engage in and inform the strategic expansion of prescribed fire continues to be unclear. In this session, we will:
- Unpack the complex terrain of federal policymaking entities and venues that will influence federal wildfire and fuels reduction strategies.
- Review RVCC’s and partners’ collective prescribed fire and cooperative burning advocacy interests and recommendations.
- Identify opportunities for engagement, coalition-building, and advocacy using existing or new venues and strategies.
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In the past 5 years, New Mexico revised their Forest Action Plan, signed a Shared Stewardship Agreement with the USFS, and developed a Shared Stewardship Portal – all in alignment with the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy. This webinar will focus on the State’s journey, the inclusiveness of the process with partners, and a demonstration of the portal and executive reporting dashboards that assist in delivering on the strategies and actions outlined in their Forest Action Plan. The webinar will include examples of New Mexico’s progress toward the Cohesive Strategy goals including the high-priority landscape – the Enchanted Circle.
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The objective of this webinar is to walk through the “why?” of the common monitoring strategy and go through each question at national level.
The suggested audience for this session includes collaborative groups, Forest Service staff, and partners that are new to CFLRP and beginning their journey, and those that are CFLRP alumni.
During this web meeting, attendees will:
- Build your network by connecting with CFLRP alumni and other selected projects in the current cohort
- Learn more about multi-party monitoring lessons learned and best practices
- Understand the intent and background of the CFLRP Common Monitoring Strategy
- Discuss the Core Monitoring Questions and next steps
- Ask questions and see where you can learn more
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Are you curious about how land managers plan for wildfire risk in their forest treatments or how fire managers figure out how to respond when a wildfire is actively burning? If so, please join us for a 60-minute webinar where speakers Kit O’Connor and Tyler Beeton will discuss a powerful mapping and pre-planning tool called Potential Operational Delineations, or PODs. PODs incorporates a risk management approach, local knowledge of the land, and existing barriers to fire to develop logical landscape-scale wildfire response options before fires spark.
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The IBHS test chamber is a unique facility to study the effects of wind on fire. The test chamber area is equal to four basketball courts which allows researchers to perform large scale wind and fire tests. The test chamber is equipped with 105 fans that can generate gusty wind ranging from 12 to 120 mph. In this presentation, we will share our experience on creating realistic gusty wind and its effects on full-scale fire tests. Then, we will talk about our ongoing collaborative research projects with USFS, NIST and Cal Fire. Finally, we will describe our role in building codes and public policy.
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Description: In this webinar, Kira Hoffman will describe some of the factors that have contributed to the recent impactful wildfire seasons experienced in British Columbia in the last five years. She will discuss some of the barriers to applying controlled fire to the broader landbase and the importance of supporting Indigenous-led fire stewardship.
Presenter: Kira Hoffman is a fire ecologist and former wildland firefighter. Hoffman’s research focuses on how humans have used fire for millennia to manage and enhance their natural surroundings. In concert with Indigenous and local ecological knowledge, she uses western science to better understand how present-day forests have been shaped by stewardship techniques such as burning and how ongoing fire suppression has eroded the resiliency of landscapes and human communities. From field expeditions sampling fire-scarred trees to historical photograph interpretation and remote sensing imagery, her methods also integrate a range of disciplines including dendrochronology, botany, and archaeology. Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of British Columbia, she is passionate about linking knowledge to action through science communication and supporting Indigenous-led solutions to environmental problems.
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Federally owned public lands, originally designated to properly manage natural resources, are prone to wildfire in the southern Rocky Mountains, a risk which has increased as a result of environmental conditions and historical land management. Outdoor recreation has become increasingly prevalent since the twentieth century, providing greater access to fire-prone lands. Using San Juan National Forest as the study site, this presentation explores research analyzing the influence outdoor recreation and human access have on anthropogenic wildfire occurrence and size in the southern Rocky Mountains. GIS methodologies and statistical analysis demonstrate the impact designated outdoor recreation locations have on anthropogenic wildfires, giving insight into specific usage patterns that result in human-caused wildfire ignitions.
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In the year-plus since President Biden issued Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, USDA agencies have put a central focus on promoting and expanding the use of climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices. This session will dig into how conservation and land management agencies – namely the Forest Service and NRCS – are operationalizing the Administration’s climate priorities through new and existing programs, initiatives, and funding sources. We’ll also hear from land management practitioners about how they are incorporating climate considerations into all-lands work at the local scale.
Webinar recording.
Join the Rocky Mountain Research Station and the Southwest Ecological Restoration Institutes for an upcoming land manager-focused LIGHTNING TALK webinar dedicated to forest regeneration and reforestation in western fire-adapted forests. Short science presentations will highlight what is happening with regeneration following fire and forest treatments plus considerations and tools for reforestation. Discussion and Q&A during this session will facilitate information exchange between scientists and managers.
Webinar recording.
Invasive annual grasses pose ecological and economic challenges for invasive species managers and agricultural producers across the West. On this Working Lands, Working Communities Initiative webinar, speakers will examine management tools and strategies to effectively manage cheatgrass, medusahead, and ventenata.