We would like to wish all of our SERPPAS Prescribed Fire Working Group partners and friends a safe, and happy 2020! We continually look forward to working with each of you, and growing the safe and effective use of prescribed fire together across the South.

From the coordination team,

Jenn Fawcett & Laurel Kays

The SERPPAS Spring 2020 Steering Committee Meeting will be held March 4-5 in Atlanta, GA, while the 2020 Principals Meeting will be held May 12-13 in Beaufort, NC. SERPPAS will be celebrating 15 years of partnership in 2020! Logistics and more information can be found on the SERPPAS website.

The Virginia PFC has released Beyond the Bonfire: A Primer on Prescribed Fire for Virginia's Private Landowners. The primer includes information on Virginia prescribed burning laws, burn planning, fire weather, and much more.

The latest statistics report on the nation’s state forestry agencies is now available. The National Association of State Foresters has released a report on data and analysis from the

2018 NASF State Forestry Statistics Survey. The report covers a wide variety of forestry topics, including wildland fire management. According to the report, wildfire programs reported a slight increase in expenditures of $42 million or 2% for 2018 vs. 2016. Acres under wildfire protection by state forestry

agencies in 2018 totaled 1.59 billion acres. Of the 50 member states, 46 state forestry agencies managed nearly 12.5 million acres of prescribed fire in 2018. 

Partners including USDA NRCS have released a new story map that allows users to discover some of the species that call the longleaf pine ecosystem home. Examples of species covered by the story map include the gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake, and gopher frog.

New videos recently released that address topics relevant to the prescribed fire community include:

The EPA has released a new data visualization tool to accompany the Smoke Sense app. Smoke Sense is a research project that enables citizen scientists to engage with a mobile app to explore current and forecast maps of air quality, learn about how to protect health from wildfire smoke, and record their smoke experiences, health symptoms, and behaviors taken to reduce their exposures to smoke.

The new data visualization tool displays data related to the impacts of wildfire smoke reported by citizen scientists, including the number of app users, where participants report smoke and health observations, and reported responses to smoke. Want to learn more? Watch this video to learn about Smoke Sense and why the study uses a mobile application.

Burn Crew Leader - The Nature Conservancy is accepting applications for burn crew leaders for the Southern Blue Ridge Burn Crew and the crew operating on and around the Talladega National Forest. Applications for the Southern Blue Ridge position are due by January 10. Applications for the Alabama position are due January 11.

Oregon Wildland Fire Extension Positions - Oregon State University is hiring two positions for its newly formed Fire Extension Program - a program manager to manage day-to-day operations, and an assistant or associate professor faculty position to focus on program development and delivery. Applications will be accepted through January 30, but those interested should apply by January 17 for full consideration. 

Research Position - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Research and Development is seeking a candidate to engage in research projects aimed at assessing the environmental effects of wildfire and prescribed fire, and characterizing community risks and vulnerabilities. Applications are due by February 6, 3:00 PM EST.

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.