As the COVID-10 pandemic continues to play out, the following information and resources related to COVID-19 may be useful to the Southern prescribed fire community.

The updated North Carolina Smoke Management Program Guidelines has been released. Significant changes include smoke models being made available to all certified burners, and changes to burning categories.

America's Longleaf Restoration Initiative has released the 2019 Range-wide Accomplishment Report. The report details over 1.7 million acres of accomplishments, including more than 1.4 million acres of prescribed burning for longleaf.

Several entities are soliciting input on topics that may be of interest to the Southern prescribed fire community:

The Sandhills Prescribed Burn Association has revised several of their materials:

An escaped prescribed fire in the pandhandle of Florida in early May became a large wildfire. The Five Mile Swamp fire ultimately destroyed at least 14 homes. Below are some of the news stories from that fire and other recent wildfires in Florida:

Oregon's new wildfire prevention campaign features Bigfoot (or Skunk Ape, as we in the South know it!). The campaign targets those living in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), and features downloadable images for posters, social media, coloring pages, t-shirts, computer and mobile phone backgrounds, and more!

The Association for Fire Ecology Professional Certification Subcommittee has announced five new certifications for those working in wildland fuels:

Certification applications are due by September 1.

All SFE webinars, including the recent Longleaf Pine Forest Patch Dynamics and Case for Prescribed Fire Science webinars, are recorded. Recordings are available to watch anytime on the SFE YouTube channel.

North Carolina Sandhills ORISE Fellowing - The Nature Conservancy is seeking candidates for one Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow stationed in the Conservation Center of the Sandhills located in Southern Pines, NC. This appointment will assist the TNC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to accomplish the mission of the North Carolina Sandhills Conservation Partnership (Partnership). Eligible candidates must have graduated with a natural resources related degree within three years of the hiring date. Applications are due by June 4.

Assistant Professor of Forest Health and Fire Protection - Alabama A&M University is hiring for a nine-month academic appointment with additional three-month summer employment available and expected. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis.

Veterans Fire Corps - The Student Conservation Association is accepting applications from post-9/11-era US military veterans for its Fire Corps internships. Additional information and the application portal can be found on the program website.

Fire Ecology Internships - The Fire Ecology Program at Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy in Tallahassee, FL seeks to provide field and laboratory experience for college students and recent graduates in the areas of plant ecology, ecosystem ecology, and fire ecology and science. Most internships last 12-16 weeks and are largely fieldwork based. Summer interns work from May-August and Fall interns work from October-December.  Get full details and application instructions here.