Nearly every state and federal agency and non-profit involved with prescribed burning in north Florida assembled at the University of Florida's Ausin Cary Forest in Gainesville, FL on January 26, 2019 to host the inaugural Flatwoods Fire and Nature Festival. Staff and volunteers from the Florida Forest Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC), the University of Florida, the St. Johns River Water Management District, Alachua Conservation Trust, the Southern Fire Exchange, the North Florida Prescribed Burn Association, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many more contributed to provide exhibits, games, information for private landowners, and even two real, live prescribed burns with printed burn plans for the public to see.

More than 700 people came out to enjoy the festivities, which included wild animals that depend on fire-dependent habitat, the opportunity to use and get to know fire equipment, live music, food trucks and of course, the two burns! The educational goal for all those involved was sharing the many benefits that come to land managed with fire with a lot of focus on wildlife and wildlife habitat. FWCC staff and volunteers surveyed 234 visitors and the results suggested that more than half of the visitors to the event had no prior experience with prescribed fire and felt the festival increased their understanding of why prescribed fire is used. Everyone is excited about doing it again in January 2021.

The National Wildfire Coordinating Group has launched a YouTube channel. The channel will provide a variety of content, including WFSTAR, training courses, and wildland fire leadership development videos. Those with questions can contact Travis Touchette.

USDA Forest Service scientist Callie Schweitzer and Northern Research Station research forester Daniel Dey collaborated to review current science on the long-term impacts of using prescribed fire to manage oak forests and woodlands. The review was published in Forests.

As climate change impacts intensify, watershed protection and restoration tactics are shifting. Protection and restoration projects often include prescribed fire, particularly in the increasingly arid western US.

Landowners in North Carolina and other states may see an increase in brown spot needle blight in newly established longleaf stands. The best control for the disease is prescribed fire in January or February, but record rainfall amounts have hampered burning efforts in North Carolina and across the South.

The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center has released a collection of 16 essays, titled The View From Here. Various authors address how and why some ingrained wildland fire practices and perspectives must be altered.

NC State University professors are working to rejuvenate a rare stand of mature longleaf pine, some of which date back to the early 20th century. The project, a primary component of which is prescribed fire, also serves as a teaching tool for students.

National Public Radio's All Things Considered covered the challenges in increasing the use of prescribed fire in California.

Extension Professionals and others from across the Southeast have helped organize learn and burn workshops for private landowners this prescribed burn season. On February 5, 2019 partners including NC State Extension Forestry, NC Forest Service, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NC Prescribed Fire Council, and National Wild Turkey Federation hosted a learn and burn workshop in Bladen County, NC. More than 25 private landowners and consultants came to learn about and gain experience using prescribed fire. The morning classroom session included presentations from agency personnel on reasons for burning, financial assistance, laws and liability, fire weather, and burning techniques. In the afternoon, participants and organizers headed to the Suggs Mill Pond Game Lands, where participants conducted a prescribed burn on a 29 acre longleaf tract under the supervision of experienced burn mentors.

At the Orianne Indigo Snake Preserve near Lumber City, GA on February 8, a "learn and burn" was hosted by Southern Regional Extension Forestry, the Orianne Society, Georgia Forestry Commission, Longleaf Alliance, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability. The event followed a similar format to the North Carolina event, with 15 landowners attending to hear presentations on prescribed burning topics in the morning and conduct a prescribed burn under the supervision of experienced burn mentors.

How do you get 200 Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and adult volunteers excited about longleaf pine forestry, ecology and management? You set things on fire. In early February partners from across North Florida and South Georgia came together to host the second biennial Longleaf Challenge event at Wallwood Boy Scout Reservation in Gadsden county, Florida. The three-day event was led by a planning team with members representing the Suwannee River Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, The Nature Conservancy, Southern Fire Exchange, Florida Forest Service, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge. Over the course of three-days, middle and high school youth learned to identify trees within the longleaf pine ecosystem, scoped an active gopher tortoise burrow, planted longleaf pines, aged deer jawbones, planted native groundcover, competed in firehose relay race, operated various prescribed fire ignition devices, assessed structural wildfire risk factors, watched a live-feed from a UAV thermal camera, and learned about careers in forestry and natural resources. For Boy Scouts, the event was designed to accomplish the requirements for the forestry merit badge. The highlight of the day was a 1-acre demonstration prescribed fire that was narrated and led by The Nature Conservancy North Florida Prescribed Fire Team. This event was supported by a grant from the Longleaf Stewardship Fund from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to the Apalachicola Regional Stewardship Alliance. For more information about the Longleaf Challenge contact David Godwin or Brian Pelc. 

Wildland Restoration International is available to help public and private landowners and land managers in Florida with prescribed fire and habitat management. WRI is specifically reaching out to private landowners receiving cost share funding from NRCS for prescribed

burning who need help getting their contracts completed. Landowners

are eligible in the counties of Levy, Alachua, Putnam, Marion, Flagler,

Commons Photo Credit: Source

Volusia, Lake, Sumter, Hernando, Polk, Osceola, Manatee, Hardee, and Highlands.  If you are interested, contact WRI Fire Program Coordinator Ryan Kennelly at ryan.kennelly@wildlandrestoration.org or 352-373-0550.

The Association for Fire Ecology (AFE) will distribute Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) TREE grants. These are designed to help graduate students travel to present at conferences and workshops related to fire science and management. Applications are due 60 days before the start of the event the applicant would like to attend. Additional information and application link are available on the AFE website. 

More recorded webinars on a variety of fire topics can be found on the Southern Fire Exchange webinar page, the Oak Woodlands and Forests Fire Consortium webinar page, and the Consortium of Appalachian Fire Manager and Scientists webinars and presentations page.