Archived WEBINAR - PAST FIRE AND PRESENT-DAY MESOPHICATION: IMPLICATIONS FOR OAK ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION

A recording of this webinar is now available to stream from the Lake States Fire Science Consortium Adobe Connect site.

Past fire and present-day mesophication: Implications for oak ecosystem restoration 
Greg Nowacki, Regional Ecologist
US Forest Service
October 15, 2015

Thanks to our co-sponsors -- the Society for Ecological Restoration Midwest/Great Lakes Chapter and the Lake States Fire Science Consortium -- and especially to everyone who joined us for this webinar. 

Archived Webinar - "Where should we burn? A Fire Needs Assessment for Wisconsin"

A recording of the webinar is available to stream via LANDFIRE's Youtube channel.

Update: Read our final report of the Wisconsin Fire Needs Assessment and find links to the publication inEcological Applications.

Where Should we burn? A Fire Needs Assesment for Wisconsin 

Dr. Tracy Hmielowski, Fire Information Specialist
Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium
October 8, 2014

Given the limitations on prescribed fire resources, the Fire Science Consortia have developed a model, also known as the Fire Needs Assessment, to identify high priority areas for management with prescribed fire. We mapped fire dependent vegetation using the LANDFIRE Existing Vegetation Layer (EVT), and ranked management units based on the potential benefits, effort, and challenges associated with using prescribed fire on the landscape. Tracy showed how open access data and stakeholder involvement have shaped this project, and shared the initial results of the Fire Needs Assessment. 

Archived Webinar - Elements of the National Weather Service Fire Weather Forecast

A recording of this webinar is available to stream via the Lake States Fire Science Consortium Youtube channel. 

Elements of the National Weather Service Fire Weather Forecast

Casey Sullivan
National Weather Service, Chicago/Romeoville office
March 5, 2014

A document with contact information for fire weather forecasters at National Weather Service field offices is now available to download.

This webinar provides overview of the National Weather Service fire weather forecast program and discussed elements of the fire weather forecast available to any fire practitioner. The hourly weather graph and definitions of surface winds were emphasized.

About the presenter:

Casey Sullivan is a forecaster and meteorologist at the National Weather Service, Chicago/Romeoville office and is the fire weather program manager. He is the fire weather program manager, acting as the liaison between the staff at the Chicago office and the local fire and land managers. He works with fire/land managers who perform prescribed fires or respond to wildfires, including staff at the U.S. Forest Service Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, National Park Service Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, home to more than 5 million residents.

Archived Webinar -Responses of a rare reptile to prescribed fire (archived talk)

A recording of this webinar is available to stream from the Lake States Fire Science Consortium Youtube channel. 

Multi-scale Responses of Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus) to Prescribed Fire.

Matthew D. Cross

Bowling Green State University

February 13, 2014

The eastern massasauga rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus) is a threatened species that occurs in habitats frequently targeted by prescribed burns.  There have been reports of massasauga mortality as a result of prescribed fires, but little is known regarding the indirect effects of the fires on this species.  The objective of this study was to monitor massasaugas during a prescribed fire to assess direct and indirect effects.  We initially implanted radio transmitters in 13 massasaugas inhabiting an area targeted for periodic prescribed fires and tracked them following a prescribed fire to determine burn related-mortality and behavioral influences.  Data loggers, temperature sensitive paint and measuring posts were used to record detailed fire data.  Of the five snakes on the burn unit at the time, two died as a result of the fire.  No differences were observed in daily movements and home range sizes between burn categories (in the burn, same site not in the burn and at a nearby control site.  Snakes on and off the burn unit at the same site exhibited the same habitat preference for wetland habitats, whereas snakes at the control site preferred herbaceous areas.  Slight differences were observed in microhabitat selection related to litter depth, surface light intensity, distance to water and surface temperature.  The snakes did not appear to alter their seasonal activities as a result of the prescribed fire.  The results of this study suggest ways to minimize impacts from prescribed fires on massasauga populations.

Co-sponsored by the Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium and Lake States Fire Science Consortium.