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Fire Summit Hosted by Tall Timbers
Summit organizers and facilitator shown above L-R: Joe Michaels, Neal Edmondson,
Alan Dozier, Lane Green, Mike Long and Jim Karels. |
On January 16-18, 2008 a benchmark event occurred at Tall Timbers. Top representatives from State and Federal agencies with land management purview and various non-governmental organizations and selected representatives from the private sector met to develop a future for fire in 2020 for the states of Florida and Georgia.
Our ability to use prescribed fire in the future is becoming increasingly unsure, given recent EPA regulations and additional issues that practitioners face. The goal of this meeting was to be proactive in securing the ability to use fire in the future.
Specific goals for the summit were:
- To discuss the future of fire, given the current state of affairs and direction
- To determine where the future of fire should be
- To discuss media messages
- To define data and information needs
- Identify all issues related to the continued use of prescribed fire
- To determine the questions we should be asking and answering
- Develop an acceptable future
The Summit opened with a series of presentations designed to give participants the background information needed to build a plan for both states. During the next day, Joe Michaels, of Meetings by Michaels, guided participants through intensive sessions to discuss the desired future of fire. Barriers were identified next, followed by sessions on developing strategies to overcome barriers. The final day priorities were developed for the strategies and assignments made for implementation.
Based on group consensus the desired future for fire in Florida and Georgia is one where the public is demanding more fire; the right to burn is protected at Federal, state and local levels; prescribed fire is recognized to protect public health and safety; fire is occurring on the land at appropriate intervals; and future generations share an educated perspective about fire, among others. Major barriers to achieving this future included issues of smoke management; lack of informed public support about the use of prescribed fire; insufficient fiscal resources for agencies tasked with fire management responsibility; increasing urbanization; low agency priority; and lack of credibility about the professionalism among prescribed burners, among others.
The group came up with an amazingly creative set of strategies to overcome the barriers and achieve a successful future for the use of fire. They included: working with EPA to educate them about differences between prescribed fire vs. wildfire emissions; utilizing and making readily available new technology to model smoke plumes and visibility; and an innovative series of communication initiatives. These strategies will be used to further develop specific plans of action for each state.
This meeting was an outgrowth of idea exchanges between Mike Long, Director, Florida Division of Forestry (FDOF), Lane Green, Executive Director, Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy (TTRSLC), and Jim Karels, Assistant Director, FDOF. Because of the close working relationship with Georgia and commonality of certain issues Alan Dozier, Fire Protection Chief, Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC), Neal Edmondson, Prescribed Fire Program Manager, GFC, Greg Findley, District Forester, GFC, Ron Masters, Director of Research, TTRSLC, and Kevin Robertson, Fire Ecologist, TTRSLC were asked to join in forming a steering committee to plan this Summit.
Tall Timbers will continue to work with participants and sponsoring agencies to develop the plans, conduct follow-up sessions and publish proceedings.
Presentations
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