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Prescribed Burning in the Eastern WUI

This discussion was recorded on Feb. 16, 2023. More and more natural resource managers in the eastern US are looking to use prescribed fire to reduce wildfire risk and manage ecosystems located in the WUI. Using prescribed fire in urban and suburban locations brings unique, intimidating challenges that can add to the complexity of a burn. In this panel discussion, we’ll highlight success stories, common themes, and lessons learned from prescribed fire programs in the WUI.

This panel discussion was approved for 1.5 Category 1 CFE's by the Society of American Foresters.

Our panel

David Godwin David is the director and co-principal investigator of the Southern Fire Exchange program with the University of Florida School Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences. His fire science research experience spans a variety of southern ecosystems and includes investigations of wildfire burn severity using remote sensing and studies of the impacts of prescribed fire and mechanical fuel treatments on southeastern U.S. forests and soil carbon dynamics.	Nick Larson Nick Larson has been working as a forester and District Ranger with the US Forest Service for 18 years with duty stations from Alabama and Western North Carolina to Arizona and Northern California. Nick is particularly interested in managing unplanned wildfires for resource benefit and restoring fire-adapted forests. Nick has been on the Grandfather Ranger District for 9 years, helping increase the amount of prescribed fire in fire-adapted oak and pine forests both on USFS and adjacent lands.	Louise Loudermilk Louise is a Research Ecologist and Fire Team Leader within the USFS Athens Prescribed Fire Laboratory. Louise's research aims to identify and model important processes of vegetation, carbon, and fire dynamics and how that relates to long-term management. She also works to link fire behavior and fire effects using 3D modeling.
John McCabe John has been working with the Forest Preserves of Cook County (the “Preserves”) since June of 1994 after earning his degree in Forestry at Michigan Technological University. He is the Director of the department of Resource Management and is currently serving as the President of the Illinois Prescribed Fire Council. John enjoys the challenges of implementing this most valuable of management tools in the second most populated county in the country.	Polly Weigand Polly Weigand holds a master’s degree in Urban Ecology from Hofstra University and is the Science and Stewardship Program Manager for the Central Pine Barrens Commission. In this multifaceted position, Polly is focused on managing ecosystem health, southern pine beetle, and oak wilt; emerging issues such as invasive species encroachment; advancing restoration of areas impacted by illegal activities; and supporting continued understanding of the region’s ecology through research and monitoring.

Moderator

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