Fire Communication & Education
Description: Through a case study from Washington, DC, participants will learn how to get feedback from historically underrepresented groups and tailor cooperative extension programs to people of different races, ages, and academic backgrounds.
Some people, such as minorities and those from under-educated and lower income backgrounds, are typically excluded from conversations surrounding the degradation and improvement of ecosystem structure, function, and services. In an effort to provide an opportunity for under-served populations to be heard, inform content creation in academic courses and in cooperative extension programs, and create experiential learning opportunities for students at our land-grant university, we developed a survey instrument to gather public perceptions and knowledge on natural resources and climate change. This survey was administered in-person by undergraduate students at the University of the District of Columbia and online in Washington, DC. We will share the lessons we learned about effectively reaching people and how demographics of stakeholders need to be considered. Understanding what people know and perceive is key to designing effective educational programs, engaging in collective conversations, and building effective partnerships that find solutions for environmental problems that benefit the community.
Presenters: USDA Northeast Climate Hub. Contact Jennifer Ryan, Science & Technology Training Library content manager, for more information.
The first session in a series of seven on Shared Stewardship, Vicki Christensen, Chief of the USDA Forest Service; Jay Farrell, Executive Director of the National Association of State Foresters; Vernon Stearns Jr., President of the Intertribal Timber Council; Karen Hardigg, Executive Director of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition; and Mary Mitsos, President and CEO of the National Forest Foundation answered the questions, “If you were to look back five years from now, what would you be most proud of in terms of what has been achieved through Shared Stewardship?” and, “Where are cultural shifts needed to make those desired outcomes a reality?”. Speakers addressed a series of audience questions before the session concluded.
Wildfire is a growing threat in the western US, driven by high fuel loads, a warming climate, and rising human activity in the wildland urban interface. Diverse stakeholders must collaborate to mitigate risk and adapt to changing conditions. Communication strategies in collaborative efforts may be most effective if they align with local perspectives on wildfire and climate change. We
investigate drivers of residents’ subjective perceptions regarding both issues in eastern Oregon using 2018 survey data, and examine objective evidence regarding local fuel loads, climate, and
wildfire to identify trends and contextualize residents’ perceptions. We find that sociopolitical identity strongly predicts climate change beliefs, and that identity and climate beliefs predict both
perceptions of recent past climate and likely future trends. Political influences on climate perceptions are strongest among people whose friends mostly belong to the same party. In contrast, perceptions about future wildfire risks are largely independent of climate-change beliefs, and of individual or peer-group politics. Most people accurately perceive the rising frequency of large wildfires, and expect this trend to continue. Decision makers have an opportunity to engage diverse stakeholders in developing policies to mitigate increasing wildfire risk without invoking
climate change, which remains politically polarizing in some communities.
In NEPA 101, you learned about the components of the National Environmental Policy Act and the role of collaborative engagement in the environmental analysis process. In this follow-up webinar, Susan Jane Brown from the Western Environmental Law Center gives a presentation on and answer your questions about collaborative administrative and judicial review opportunities, and dig deeper into the administrative review process for the Forest Service, judicial review of agency decisions, and how collaborative groups can engage in these processes.
This webinar walks through the newly launched Future Avoided Cost Explorer (FACE:Hazards) with a basic demonstration of the tool’s features and answer questions about exploring the study data. This resource, provided by the State of Colorado, aims to help decision-makers determine the economic risks of future hazards – including flood, drought, and wildfire – on select sectors of Colorado’s economy.
Visit conference website.
The Association for Fire Ecology (AFE) and Pau Costa Foundation (PCF) are partnering with Regione Toscana and University of Florence to host a conference in Florence, Italy for diverse stakeholders involved in wildfire management. Experts from Europe and around the world are invited to gather in Florence to share fire ecology science and expertise. This conference will be a meeting point for international wildfire and landscape managers, scientists, policy makers, communicators and other representatives from national, regional and local organizations.
The conference aims to increase the interaction of the wildfire community across boundaries to more effectively exchange knowledge and understanding about the contribution of fire ecology on fire management. Such coordination is needed to help providing solutions that balance ecological processes and wildfire risk reduction. This collaborative event will provide a space to understand and discuss the global wildfire situation and regional challenges, the uncertainties that need to be addressed, and also to share solutions on wildfire mitigation.
Description: Learn about the science and data used to calculate and map wildfire risk nationwide in the new Wildfire Risk to Communities website. Hear from the project’s technical lead about the use of LF and other input datasets, the methods for modeling and mapping wildfire risk, and the data products available through the website. See a demonstration of the website and how to download geospatial and tabular data.
Presenters: Greg Dillon, Frank Fay, Jim Menakis, Kelly Pohl, Joe Scott
Description: See a demonstration of the new Wildfire Risk to Communities website, including use of the interactive maps, charts, and resources available for every community, county, and state in the U.S. Learn how the website and downloadable resources can help community leaders such as elected officials, community planners, and fire managers prioritize actions to mitigate risk. Wildfire Risk to Communities is a new easy-to-use website with interactive maps, charts, and resources to help communities understand, explore, and reduce wildfire risk. It was created by the USDA Forest Service under the direction of Congress. Wildfire Risk to Communities builds on nationwide LANDFIRE data to provide new information about wildfire risk to communities across the U.S.
Presenters: Greg Dillon, Frank Fay, Jim Menakis, Kelly Pohl, Joe Scott
Description: Forest planning and management efforts, including both forest plan revision and comprehensive river management planning, require extensive public engagement. Social science approaches that are practically applied by practitioners within the public engagement process are limited. Armatas and colleagues have developed a “social vulnerability” protocol focused on peoples’ human-nature relationships that can support both decision-making and public relations.
Presenter: Chris Armatas, RMRS research social scientist
Description: Oregon State University’s Forestry & Natural Resources Extension Fire Program and its partners present a webinar series on Wildfire Preparedness and Prevention in Oregon. The last of three webinars focuses on fire adapted communities (FAC) and what it means to be Ready, Set, Go! This webinar is 1.5 hours and the last 30 minutes will include a live demonstration from a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member showing us what’s in their go packs!
Presenters:
Alison Green, Oregon: Living with Fire
Jennifer Dietz, International Fire Chiefs Association
Aaron Crawford, CERT member
Dave Busby, Fire Emergency Planning Manager