Fire Communication & Education
This interactive webinar will explore how systems level trends impact the way we manage fire in unexpected ways. Hear why cutting trees in overstocked forests does far less than you might think to increase a community’s resilience to catastrophic fire; how the public framing of the “wildfire crisis” creates narratives that negatively impacts fire management; and how the unintended consequences of policy and demographics muzzle the most important ecological disturbance in almost 80% of America’s landscapes. The webinar will address both opinions and opportunities for re-creation of a restoration economy and fire’s New Deal.
Webinar recording
Fire is the first of three Great Constants in our lives. Change is the second. A web of change, consisting of population growth; density of homes built in outlying areas; new home construction; weather drying and heating; biomass build-up from fire suppression, management, etc. is converging on our communities, landscapes, economies, and collective resources. That convergence is creating negative impact and loss at unprecedented rates. This webinar discusses solutions to the fire problem.
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This study finds negligible cost differences between a typical home and a home constructed using wildfire-resistant materials and design features. Decades of research and post-fire assessments have provided clear evidence that building materials and design, coupled with landscaping on the property, are the most important factors influencing home survivability during a wildfire.
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This collection represents collective insight into how we operate and why we must alter some of our most ingrained practices and perspectives.
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Discussions of successes, struggles, and failures with partner-specific tools are vital to the successful implementation of “translational ecology” a formal term for biological conservation partnerships.
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Collaborative forest management efforts often encounter challenges related to process and stakeholder relationships. To address these challenges, groups may employ the services of coordinators and facilitators who perform a range of tasks in support of the collaborative. We sought to understand differences between facilitation and coordination in terms of trust creation and maintenance. We conducted case studies in four collaborative groups, one with a facilitator and three with coordinators. We highlight the trust-building practices unique to the facilitator and discuss the potential implications for future collaborative groups.
Visit Cal Fire wildfire preparedness website.
Many resources are available on preparing and preventing wildfire and living and coping after wildfire.
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“Learn and Burn” workshops are an excellent way for private landowners and others to gain hands-on burning experience and knowledge from expert mentors. This webinar will provide some lessons learned from coordinating these events, and tips to putting one on in the future. Participants will be provided with a template checklist, examples of past agendas, ideas for potential partners and funding opportunities, suggestions on how to measure program impact, and successes from past events. Are you thinking of planning one of these events?
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At seven focus groups held across the United States, natural resource professionals were asked how they found the science needed to do their jobs. Although searching for science online was mentioned in all groups and by all demographics, how search results were used differed. Early-career professionals used them to find scientific articles to read. Mid- to late-career professionals used them to identify author(s) to contact to discuss results. Open access articles were highly preferred. Viewing webinars and videos was also mentioned frequently. Webinars are falling out of favor while short videos are becoming more popular. Attending scientific meetings remains a preferred approach, but professionals later in their career like them for different reasons than early-career professionals. The two career cohorts also differ in why they like electronic newsletters. Rapid adoption of new technologies to disseminate science has already impacted professionals’ behavior, yet it is not clear that researchers have kept up.
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Land managers are challenged to protect cultural resources within the context of reintroducing fire on the landscape. Positive relationships and partnerships are essential to effective management.