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DRIPTORCH DIGEST
A Newsletter for the Southern Prescribed Fire Community
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Welcome to the Driptorch Digest,
an online newsletter for the Southern prescribed fire community.
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to others who might be interested, and encourage them to sign up for their own subscription by clicking on the "subscribe" link at the bottom of this newsletter, or by subscribing to the
Southeast Prescribed Fire Update blog
to receive this newsletter as well as other occasional fire-related blog posts.
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Spotlight: Southeast Cohesive Fire Management Strategy Success Story
Creating a Fire Resilient Landscape in the Pisgah National Forest
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| Landscape following the Bald Knob Fire. Photo credit: Adam Warwick, The Nature Conservancy |
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Written by: Nicholas Larson, Pisgah National Forest, Clint Cross, Southern Regional Office, Jim Menakis, WO Fire & Aviation Management, and Holly Campbell, Southern Regional Extension Forestry
On July 14, 2015, a lightning strike ignited a wildfire on Bald Knob in the Grandfather Ranger District (GRD) of the Pisgah National Forest, only 30 miles outside of Asheville, North Carolina. The wildfire may have posed a greater threat had it not been adjacent to areas containing recent fuel treatments (prescribed fire) and wildfires. Click here to read.
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Prescribed Burn Association Updates
PBA Special Session at AFE Congress
There will be a special session on PBAs at the upcoming
Association for Fire Ecology Congress
in November. If you will be attending the Congress, be sure to attend this session!
Prescribed Burn Alliance of Texas
A Prescribed Fire Portal contains many resources and links to all eleven prescribed burn associations located in Texas. Key contact information, maps and websites are included as well.
NC Sandhills PBA
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has granted this project funding for another two years, including support of the NC Sandhills PBA!
Want to Start a PBA?
Are you thinking of starting a PBA in your area? Check out this site for all kinds of PBA-related information!
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eFIRE Online Course
Texas Rangelands Case Study Added
eFIRE is a free, electronic field-based interactive prescribed fire online experience. Stand in the field with landowners as they talk about ways prescribed fire helps meet their burn objectives for their property. Listen as experts share their perspectives on prescribed fire. Learn the steps for conducting a prescribed burn, from planning through evaluation via virtual visits to our case study sites. Find the resources you need to take action. Newly added: Texas Rangeland Case Study with videos on goals, objectives, methods, benefits and evaluation of prescribed fire on rangeland and ranch-based working lands. Contact for more information or feedback
[email protected]
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 New Fire Science You Can Use:
Got 10 Minutes?
Depending on where you live in the South, you might be interested in following the work of either or both the Southern Fire Exchange (SFE) and the Consortium of Fire Managers & Scientists (CAFMS).
10 Minutes Interviews is an interview series where the Southern Fire Exchange talks with experts, leaders, and sages in southern wildland fire management and research. These interviews are provided as PDF documents full of colorful images, interesting biographies, and useful references.
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Prescribed Fire Council Updates
Annual Meetings
Central Florida
Prescribed Fire
Council Meeting
(New Date**), November 13th, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM at Osceola Heritage Park Complex (1875 Silver Spur Lane, Kissimmee, FL 34744.
Click for more information and register to attend.
Many Prescribed Fire Councils have announced their annual meeting dates. Several links to more information are included in the "Upcoming Events" section of this newsletter. Or, check
on your state's website
to find an event near you.
Welcome Burner Bob!
A special guest appeared at the
at the Georgia Prescribed Fire Council Annual Meeting this fall. Yes, that's right, t
he southeastern U.S. prescribed fire stakeholders have a mascot - a life-sized character that even Smokey Bear would appreciate! His(?) name is Burner Bob (as in bobwhite) and he brings his own Nomex(c) and driptorch to the party.
Seen in the photo to the left
are
Burner Bob and his good friend Randy Tate of the Longleaf Alliance. It is expected that Burner Bob will be quite popular as a guest at many public events where information about the benefits of prescribed burning will be shared. Stay tuned for more information about having Burner Bob at events in the future.
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Cooperative Extension & Educator's Corner
Opportunities for Extensionists to Learn More and Become Involved
Southern Extension Forestry Retreat
Southeast regional Cooperative Extension personnel convened for the Southern Extension Forestry Retreat on Oct. 10-11th at the Cheaha State Park in Alabama to discuss a variety of pertinent forestry and natural resource issues, including wildland fire. A separate wildland fire discussion session focused on potential projects to increase Extension personnel's role in fire education and outreach in the region. From the session, future efforts to attract diverse Extension Agent focus areas (i.e., 4-H, family and consumer science, water resources, community development, etc.) were identified and a Delphi Study will be conducted to identify the most pressing wildland fire issue in need of Extension focus. Please contact Holly Campbell, [email protected], Southern Regional Extension Forestry, for more information.
AFTER THE STORM: ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF HURRICANE DAMAGED TIMBER- When hurricane- or tropical storm-force winds rip through forestland, the remaining twisted, broken and damaged timber is no longer the same merchantable product as it was before the storm. In addition to timber value and infrastructure losses, many forest landowners and managers are also concerned about potential problems, such as bark beetles and wildfire, which may become problems in coming months. This fact sheet summarizes information and guidelines from many sources, with a focus on Florida. It provides guidance to forestland owners for assessing severe storm damage, handling salvage operations and timber sales, minimizing potential impacts of other disasters after the storm, dealing with financial issues such as income tax casualty losses, and altering management plans: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr154
FireVision 20/20 - The 7th Association for Fire Ecology (AFE) International Fire Congress
Please join other Extension personnel and fire educators at the Association for Fire Ecology International Congress from Nov. 28th-Dec. 2nd in Orlando, FL for several fire education conference presentations, sessions, and discussion periods.
The Congress is hosting several wildland fire education presentations and discussions directly applicable to Extension personnel and other educators, including:
- Special Session: Exploring Past & Future Roles of the Cooperative Extension Service in U.S. Fire Education, Wednesday, Nov. 29. Five speakers will present on successful Extension responses to wildfire, wildland fire training opportunities for Extension, wildland fire educational resources to support public and landowner education, successful wildland fire volunteer education programs, and Extension future roles in fire education.
- Fire Circle: Wildland Fire Education and Outreach: Collaboration and Strategy to Increase Impact, Thursday, Nov. 30. This discussion period will focus on ways education and outreach partners can most effectively promote fire science application and management to private landowners, communities and the public.
- Other concurrent sessions on fire outreach and communications will be held. More information: www.afefirecongress.org
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Longleaf Implementation Team Updates
Texas Longleaf Taskforce Plans November Training in Lufkin, TX
Those interested in Longleaf pine management including prescribed fire should consider this diverse training opportunity with the Longleaf Alliance and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas A&M Forest Service, US Forest Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service and others. The course will provide needed information for burning companies, forestry consultants and landowners for managing Longleaf pine with fire.
See flyer for details.
New Article on the Sandhills Game Lands
We wanted to pass along the link to a fantastic new article written by Brady Beck that just was published in the 2017 Fall Outdoor Guide from the Wildlife in North Carolina magazine (by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission). Some of you have met and or worked with Brady through our project, he has been instrumental in documenting our PBA initiative and helping with outreach. He's a fantastic longleaf advocate and is directly responsible for the restoration of the longleaf ecosystem at the Sandhills Game Lands. Please read this article, and hopefully you'll be even more inspired to stay active in the longleaf community and also join our Game Lands Tour! Magazine link is
here
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New Tools and Applications
By: Jeannie Patton, Communications Lead, The Nature Conservancy -
- LANDFIRE wants to know where our suite of data products are used both now and in the past.
So, we have developed a short, six-field Excel spreadsheet that provides space to indicate your organization/agency, the type of project(s) on which you applied data, which data project(s) you used, and which version of LF was used. There is space for comments, questions, praise, and suggestions. Access the information page, download the spreadsheet, and return it to us with your comments. Information that you provide adds to LF's knowledge base and contributes to overall planning and product development. "LANDFIRE Listens" is our motto. Thank you for your input. Link: http://ow.ly/pT9530g4TGq.
- LFDAT is now compatible with ArcGIS 10.3 - 10.5. The LF Data Access Tool (LFDAT) is an ArcGIS toolbar that allows users to interact with the LF data distribution site (DDS) and download LF data directly from ArcMap. Once the data are downloaded, it can automatically process the data into raster formats ready for analysis.
- LF application. Because LF's tools and data were instrumental in the designation, we talked with Dr. Jennifer Costanza when the North America Coastal Plain was named the world's 36th Biodiversity Hotspot. Jennifer is a landscape ecologist with research interests in the ecological effects of global change, land change modeling and landscape conservation. Read the thumbnail sketch on Conservation Gateway. Read the full interview.
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| Dr. Jennifer Costanza, Research Assistant Professor, NC State University |
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| Map of North America Coastal Plain named the world's 36th Biodiversity Hotspot |
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Are you receiving LANDFIRE Bulletins and Postcards directly? We post monthly: news, application stories, interviews. Click here to learn more and to subscribe.
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Upcoming Events, Training, and Networking
Prescribed Burn Certification Courses
October through December of 2017 - South Carolina -
1-day Classes are held in Certification requires that an individual complete the training, pass a written exam, and document their burning experience. $50 registration fee. Contact
Leslie Woodham
at the SC Forestry Commission for more information at 803-896-8809.
2017-2018 Florida Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Training Courses. Learn the basics of prescribed fire. Please download the PDF with full details:
December 5-6, 2017 - Prescribed Burn Certification Class in Waycross, GA.
Sponsored by Georgia Forestry Commission.
Click here for details and to register
May 8-10, 2018 - Louisiana- Prescribed Fire Training, Woodworth Outdoor Education Center.
Southern Fire Exchange has a useful Education and Training web page at:
State Prescribed Fire Council Annual Meetings
A majority of the Prescribed Fire Council meetings for 2017 were held in early fall of this year. To see details about these meetings, please consult the Southern Fire Exchange list of
Fire Councils.
The Wildland Firefighter Apprentice Program is an accredited, educational program designed to enhance and develop future Fire and Aviation Managers. The intent of the Program is to take a career entry firefighter and provide education, training and paid work experience over a 12 to 48 month period, depending on experience. Upon successful completion of all the requirements of the Apprenticeship Program, the apprentice will reach journey-level status as a wildland firefighter.
November 14-16, 2017 - Longleaf Academy: Fire & Longleaf F201, Lufkin, TX.
A 2-1/2 day course for landowners and natural resource professional in the use of prescribed fire in longleaf pine systems. Live fire demonstration, weather permitting Limited spots available. For more information, contact [email protected] or call (334) 427-1029. Registration is now open on the LLA website.
December 9-10, 2017 Landowner Prescribed Fire Training from North Florida PBA. Join instructor Greg Seamon (Tall Timbers Research Station) and receive both in-class training (Saturday) and practical prescribed fire training (Sunday). Information about the location and times will be available from Jess Rodriguez at [email protected] or 386-754-6245.
Ongoing - Firefighter II Certification. This intermediate firefighter training program (equivalent to NWCG S-131, S-133, and S-231 courses, as well as the G-131 course) is designed to prepare the Firefighter 2 (FFT2) to move to the Firefighter 1 (FFT1) position. This course trains these firefighters to coordinate with other resources and be good leaders - make sound tactical decisions while keeping safety their first priority.
Conferences and Workshops
November 9, 2017, 7-9 p.m., Fayetteville, NC - Landowner Longleaf Pine Meeting
November 15 - 19, 2017, Albuquerque, NM - The Future of Forestry: Meeting Diverse Needs in a Changing World.
Society of American Foresters national convention. November 17 tracks include Fire & Fuels Management. Information:
http://www.eforester.org/safconvention
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Nov. 28-Dec. 2, 2017 - AFE International Fire Congress, Orlando, FL.
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Click me
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The Association for Fire Ecology (AFE) and Southern Fire Exchange will be co-hosting "Fire Vision
20/20: A 20 Year Reflection and Look into the Future." Various calls for proposals are open (check for topics and closing dates). Rx310 will also be offered concurrently with the conference (details);
nominations are due by September 29. Information:
http://afefirecongress.org/
Click the expandable image to the right for more details.
2018 Events - Save the Date
Jan.14-Feb. 9, 2018.
Wildlife Firefighter Apprenticeship Program
. The Wildland Firefighter Apprentice Program is an accredited, educational program designed to enhance and develop future Fire and Aviation Managers. The intent of the Program is to take a career entry firefighter and provide education, training and paid work experience over a 12 to 48 month period, depending on experience. Upon successful completion of all the requirements of the Apprenticeship Program, the apprentice will reach journey-level status as a wildland firefighter.
Feb. 27-March 1, 2018 - 2018 Wildland Urban Interface Conference, Peppermill Resort, Reno, NV. Join
hundreds of the most influential people in wildland firefighting, forestry, land use and community planning all in one place. The educational sessions, hands-on exercises, and exhibit floor all offer numerous opportunities to share ideas and connect with other industry colleagues.
March 26-29, 2018 - National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy Workshop, Peppermill Resort, Reno, NV. "Making a Difference - Building Capacity, Improving Preparedness, and Learning form Experience." This conference is hosted by the International Association of Wldland Fire, in partnership with Wildland Fire Leadership Council and the Western, Southeastern and Northeastern Regional Strategic Committees.
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May 21-24, 2018 - The Fire Continuum Conference, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.
Call for Workshop
Proposals
(deadline 11/7/2017). Click the expandable image to the right for more details.
Oct. 24-26, 2018 - The Longleaf Alliance, Alexandria, LA. The 22nd biennial Longleaf Alliance regional conference is scheduled to take place at the Holiday Inn Conference Center in Alexandria, LA., October 24 through 26, 2018. Visit longleafalliance.org for more details.
Visit the Southern Fire Exchange for listings of conferences, webinars, workshops and field tours at:
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November 14, 2017, 12:00 PM ET. Stand Dynamics during Transition from Pine Plantations to Mixedwoods using Thinning and Prescribed Burning Prescriptions. How to best manage the succession of 20- to 50-year old pine (loblolly, shortleaf, Virginia) plantations to hardwood-dominated mixedwoods is a question the William B. Bankhead National Forest, northcentral Alabama is asking.
Click here to attend the webinar.
November 17, 2017, 1PM ET.
"STARR: Integrating Natural Hazard Mitigation Plans and Community Wildfire Protection Plans"
Learn more
and register to participate.
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Please log your burns!
The Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association (OPBA)
collects prescribed burn data beyond Oklahoma.
An
online form is available
to log prescribed burns and it does not need names or exact locations. It is for anyone that burns in any state: private, state and federal. As of early May, there were 211 burns entered for 2017 from nine states.
For more information about the organization and the online form contact John Weir, President of the Board of Directors of OPBA, [email protected].
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Do you have ideas about how to make wildland firefighting safer?
If so, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is looking
for your input to help guide the development
of Everyone Goes Home - Wildfire. This national collaborative effort will be focused on creating a safety culture and increasing understanding of related health and safety practices among all firefighters who respond to wildland fires, including federal, state, county, local, and volunteer personnel. Resources developed within EGH - Wildfire will be no- and low-cost to firefighters, accessible to and scalable for use by individuals and all sizes of organizations.
Your input matters. Please share your thoughts and ideas by completing the survey at:
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Job Postings
Ecosystem Support Team Supervisor
with The Longleaf Alliance for the Gulf Coastal Plain Ecosystem Partnership (GCPEP) Ecosystem Support Tea- (EST).
Closing date: October 31, 2017
. Link to see full position details: EST Supervisor Job Announcement For more information, contact Vernon Compton,
[email protected]
or call 580-623-0987.
Prescribed Fire Corps Project Leader with Student Conservation Association (SCA) in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, seeks qualified applicants to lead, educate, and inspire young adults for the Prescribed Fire Corps programs in the southeast U.S., January - May 2018. See the job description for full detail and how to apply.
Field Biologist Supervisor University of Florida, Gainesville, FL - Closing date is Nov 3
The University of Florida is seeking a highly motivated biologist to supervise a field experiments. This biologist will work as part of a collaborative research group on a NSF-funded project investigating the role of habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, and matrix quality on the population and community dynamics of insect herbivores. The project includes field work at the nearby Ordway-Swisher Biological Station (http://www.osbs.ufl.edu), including experiments manipulating habitat and matrix types, using prickly-pear cactus and their associated species as a model system. If you are interested in the position, please send a CV, unofficial transcripts, a list of 3 references, and a brief statement of why you are interested in the position to Thomas Smith. Closing date is Nov 3 .
Stewardship Manager - Closing date is December 1, 2017. Desired start date: January 2018.
Tall Timbers is seeking a permanent, full-time Stewardship Manager to be the lead person responsible for all conservation easement monitoring and extension services for our 100+ conservation easement landowners in Georgia and Florida. Our conservation easements are mainly on forest and recreation lands including some of the best remaining examples of frequently burned pine savannas in the Southeast. A competitive candidate will have a Bachelor's or Master's in forestry, natural resources, conservation, real estate, or wildlife biology with 3-5 years of professional experience, and a strong interest in land management as it relates to conservation. Individuals experienced in land trust work are encouraged to apply, but it is not required. This position requires excellent interpersonal and diplomatic skills while interacting with a broad spectrum of landowners, land managers, and supporters. Tall Timbers is an accredited land trust striving for excellence in land conservation.
Wildland Restoration International (WRI) Seasonal and Per Diem Staff
See the job descriptions for several positions including Florida Seasonal Assistant Team Leaders (FFT1), Florida Seasonal FFT2s, Florida Per diem staff (FFT2), Southeastern U.S. Seasonal Team Leaders (SRB)
Southeastern U.S. Seasonal Assistant Team Leaders (FFT1), and Southeastern U.S. Seasonal FFT2s.
Seeking Fire Management Officer
with Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. The Fire Management Officer is responsible for planning, managing and coordinating wildland fire management program for the Seminole Tribe of Florida's Environmental Resources Department on all of its tribal lands. Details and application at:
The Nature Conservancy has numerous fire-related positions open. For details, visit the
careers page and search "prescribed fire."
Online Job Boards:
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Resources
- PB-Piedmont Online. The original smoke model designed for modeling smoke movement down drainages within the Piedmont region of the Southeast is now online thanks to the Desert Research Institute.
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National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017.
A Century of Wildland Fire Research: Contributions to Long-term Approaches for Wildland Fire Management: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
https://doi.org/10.17226/24792 Available as a free PDF download, on-screen reader, or purchase a hard copy.
- Prescribed Burning: Spotfires and Escapes
is a new fact sheet from Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service along with six other southern and southwestern universities. The fact sheet contains excellent photos and illustrations specific to the concerns of spot-overs and escapes.
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Questions? Please contact: Tami Parkinson (Chair, Fire Behavior Subcommittee) at
[email protected]
- InciWeb Incident Information System with current incidents (including prescribed burns), updates, photos, and more.
- The Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) is an online collection of >1,100 peer-reviewed syntheses on fire ecology and fire regimes in the United States.
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Driptorch Digest
This newsletter is hosted by the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning & Sustainability (SERPPAS) Prescribed Fire Work Group.
Share your prescribed fire
information, stories, and events!
Jennifer Fawcett - Driptorch Digest Editor
SERPPAS Prescribed Fire Work Group Coordinator
NC State University, Extension Forestry
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EXTENSION FORESTRY
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Campus Box 8008
Raleigh, NC 27695-8008
919-515-8288
Kelley Duffield McCarter - Production Assistant
NC State University, College of Natural Resources
Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
Campus Box 8008
Raleigh, NC 27695-8008
919-515-9563
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