Webinar
Fires burn in all terrestrial ecosystems on the globe, and wildfires are getting larger, more destructive and deadly. Both humans and climate are contributing to this trend. The Fall 2021 EESI EarthTalks series, “Fire in the Earth System,” will address humanity’s long relationship with fire, how humans and climate create conditions conducive to megafires, and how policy makers and land managers can address the fire problem.
The series recordings that are available:
| Date | Speaker | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 13 | Jessica Thompson Yale University |
“The early evolution of fire-human relationships” Watch the seminar |
| Sept. 20 | David McWethy Montana State University |
“Examining climate-human-fire interactions and feedbacks in temperate ecosystems” Watch the seminar |
| Sept. 27 | Rebecca Bliege Bird Penn State |
“Indigenous fire regimes and their ecosystem services under climate change” Watch the seminar |
| Oct. 4 | David Bowman University of Tasmania |
“Viewing the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire crisis through a pyrogeographic lens” Watch the seminar |
| Oct. 11 | Alejandra Domic Penn State |
“Holocene fire history in South America: responses to climate change and human activities” Watch the seminar |
| Oct. 18 | Victor McCrary Vice Chair, National Science Board |
“National Science Board Vision 2030: Making a difference for America’s research ecosystem” Watch the seminar |
| Oct. 25 | Andres Holz Portland State University |
“Fire regimes and flammability feedbacks in Patagonian temperate forests” Watch the seminar |
Webinar recording.
Description: A panel of experts will discuss why wildfires are on the rise, the role of climate change, the predicted fate of future forests, and ways that at-risk communities can adapt. Large fires are becoming more frequent and severe across the western US. Since 1984, annual burned forest area has increased by about 1,100%. Lives, property, and livelihoods are routinely threatened and burned landscapes can be left ecologically transformed. What is causing recent trends in fire activity? What will forests of the future look like? How can modeling wildfires and forest response guide adaptation strategies? These are among the questions to be explored. Panelists will also discuss the importance of tailoring fire and forest management to the local context, considering regionally specific factors like forest type, environmental conditions, and the presence of people.
Panelists: Forest ecologist Winslow Hansen (Cary Institute), Fire ecologist Phil Higuera (University of Montana), and Natural resource sociologist Catrin Edgeley (Northern Arizona University).
Webinar registration.
Land management agencies in the U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture can potentially accomplish ecological resource management objectives using unplanned wildfires, but only if such fires do not otherwise threaten to damage valuable resources and assets. Landscape-scale fuel treatments have been proposed as a strategy for mitigating the threat of wildfire to resources and assets. But what is the best way to implement landscape-scale fuel management? Is there a single fuel treatment implementation scheme that can both provide protection to communities, and simultaneously increase the opportunities for using wildfire to accomplish resource management objectives?
This webinar presents results from a simulation study of north-central New Mexico that investigated the relative effectiveness of a variety of fuel treatment strategies and the tradeoffs of implementing fuels programs with competing management goals.
Webinar recording.
Members of the LANDFIRE Team will bring you a timely, relevant and succinct webinar describing three different applications of LANDFIRE data in published scientific literature from 2021. Our talk will start with a “30K foot view” of how LANDFIRE data is (generally) used by students, academics and agencies. We will then spotlight three example scientific papers each with a unique focus on drought, fire and climate change. We will highlight general findings, and touch on the LANDFIRE datasets, applications used for each journal article.
Papers we will discuss:
1. Drought Sensitivity and Trends of Riparian Vegetation Vigor in Nevada, USA (1985–2018) | Albano, Christina, McGwire, K.C., Hausner, M.B., McEvoy, D.J., Morton, C.G., Huntington, J.L. (LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Type classification used)
2. The Importance of Small Fires for Wildfire Hazard in Urbanized Landscapes of the Northeastern US | Carlson, Amanda R., Sebasky, M.E., Peters, M.P, Radeloff, V.C (LANDFIRE Fuels products used)
3. Modelling Species Distributions and Environmental Suitability Highlights Risk of Plant Invasions in Western US | McMahon, Devin, E., Urza, A.K., Brown, J.L., Phelan, C., Chambers, J.C. (LANDFIRE Reference Database used)
There will be 15 minutes at the end of this discussion for Q/A. Bring your questions – we’ll see you there.
Webinar recording.
Conflagrations like the 1871 Peshtigo have reemerged as important threats across North America and around the world. Understanding the factors and the phenomena that produced the fire environment of that day is possible because of weather observations collected and recorded at the time and studies of extreme fire behavior that continue to this day. Recounting it should be a cautionary tale for our lives as we continue to live them.
Webinar recording.
Conflagrations like the 1871 Peshtigo have reemerged as important threats across North America and around the world. Understanding the factors and the phenomena that produced the fire environment of that day is possible because of weather observations collected and recorded at the time and studies of extreme fire behavior that continue to this day. Recounting it should be a cautionary tale for our lives as we continue to live them.
Webinar recording.
According to the August 10, 2021 U.S. Drought Monitor, 94% of the Pacific Northwest Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) is in drought. Additionally, drought conditions are rapidly intensifying. Almost 25% of the region is in Exceptional Drought (D4), up from 3% just a month ago. Wildfires are raging, sending smoke throughout the rest of the Lower 48. This webinar will feature recent and current conditions, outlooks, as well as a presentation on communicating research to help understand what makes communities vulnerable to wildfire.
These webinars provide the region’s stakeholders and interested parties with timely information on current and developing drought conditions, as well as climatic events like El Niño and La Niña. Speakers will also discuss the impacts of these conditions on things such as wildfires, floods, disruption to water supply and ecosystems, as well as impacts to affected industries like agriculture, tourism, and public health.
Climate Recap & Current Conditions
Nick Bond | Office of the Washington State Climatologist
Seasonal Conditions & Climate Outlook
Robin Fox | Spokane Weather Forecast Office, National Weather Service
FireEarth: Communicating Research to Help Understand What Makes Communities Vulnerable to Wildfire
Sonia Hall | Washington State University
Webinar recording.
Description: As communities across the U.S. face increasing threats from wildfire, there is also a growing interest in land use planning as a strategy to reduce risk and foster more resilient outcomes. Land use planning provides a variety of tools, such as growth management plans, subdivision regulations, or wildland-urban interface (WUI) codes that can be applied in wildfire-prone areas. These tools can support public safety and emergency response, direct growth away from high hazard areas, and can complement other fire adapted activities such as vegetation management. However, selecting the appropriate tools and integrating them with other approaches often takes consideration of many factors—such as existing state requirements, potential shifts in demographic and development patterns, political will, and enforcement capacity. This webinar will provide a brief history of planning in the WUI for context, and highlight different planning tools and implementation strategies available to state and local governments—including examples from across the West.
Presenter: Molly Mowery, AICP, Executive Director, Community Wildfire Planning Center
Symposium resources.
This Symposium:
- Examined agency/utility wildfire safety, mitigation measures and resiliency planning for future fire weather
- Promoted learning about research focused on wildfire effects on water quality (sediment, contaminants) and water supply in our region and how we can improve our practices
- Discussed how forests, shrublands and rivers are recovering or being impacted by invasive plants and biodiversity loss
- Promoted understand how state and local agencies are preparing and responding to increased threat of wildfire
Webinar recording.
Presenter: Ellen Bledsoe, PhD (she/her), Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Regina
Description: Ellen will introduce some general terminology about inclusivity, privilege, allies, and allyship; explore the importance of coupling diversity initiatives with allyship; and guide you through identifying your own points of privilege and instances in which you can act as allies. She will provide concrete examples of how to be allies—both pre-emptively and in response to specific incidents.
Ellen Bledsoe is a community ecologist and data scientist with a passion for making STEM fields and society more just and inclusive. She is currently a Postdoctoral Teaching and Research Fellow with the Canadian Institute for Ecology and Evolution’s Living Data Project and is based in the Dept. of Biology at the University of Regina in Regina, Saskatchewan, in Canada. She earned her PhD from the University of Florida in 2020, where she was deeply engaged with multiple diversity, equity, and inclusivity efforts in the sciences, including serving on the Dept. of Wildlife Ecology’s DEI committee and as president of NRDI (“nerdy”; the Natural Resources Diversity Initiative). She was trained in leading Ally Skills Workshops in 2019 and subsequently co-founded the Ally Skills Network, which runs Ally Skills Workshops at UF and beyond.