Fueling Collaboration 5.3: Expanding the Fuels Planning Toolkit: Terrestrial Laser Scanning and 3D Fuels Characterization for Improved Wildland Fire Decision Support. Wildland fire managers require an expanded toolbox for decision support in the context of an increasingly novel fuel and fire environment complicated by a changing climate, invasive species encroachment, and rapid increase in wildland-urban interface in many areas within the U.S. Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) offers an efficient, cost-effective, and powerful tool for characterizing high resolution, sub-canopy forest and fuel structural conditions with the simple press of a button. In this panel discussion, TLS subject matter experts from both research and operations will share their efforts and practical applications of TLS and other 3D wildland fuels characterization tools for improved wildland fire planning, fire effects monitoring, and decision support.

Fueling Collaboration 5.2: Wetlands are the forgotten sibling of the prescribed fire world. While upland ecosystems across the Eastern U.S. have received significant attention for their fire-dependency, wetlands—characterized by their more episodic encounters with fire—rarely receive equitable fire management investments. Fire managers face unique challenges in these environments, where hydric soils, muck, and dense vegetation can prolong smoke production, encourage smoldering, and hinder vehicle access. As a result, fire-dependent wetlands nationwide have suffered, leading to declines in numerous plant and animal species. In this Fueling Collaboration panel discussion, we will explore the role of fire in various wetland ecosystems and examine the challenges and opportunities associated with its use. Join us as we hear from scientists, land managers, and biologists working in pocosins, marshes, swamps, bogs, and isolated wetlands.

Fueling Collaboration 4.4 - Land management programs are frequently confronted with the imperative of incorporating the most advanced scientific knowledge into their decision-making processes along with filling voids in research needed to move along effective management. Nevertheless, the persistent disparities between the realms of science and management often impede effective collaboration. In this panel, we will draw inspiration from successful case studies in the eastern United States, where land managers and scientists have forged pioneering partnerships, yielding tangible advancements in the field

Changing climate is reshaping the balance of fire and water in eastern ecosystems. Drought alters soil structure and stability; combined with intense rainfall, this impacts hydrologic dynamics. This panel will explore the interconnections between fire, nutrient cycling, ecohydrology, and climate change.

Season of fire. Opening the burn window. Both of these focus on one of the elements that make up a fire regime – frequency, intensity/severity, extent/scale, and seasonality. Decades of spring-and/or autumn-centric fire can cause a site or landscape to respond very differently than when burned repeatedly across all flammable seasons. Summer burns can produce differing fire effects including increased species richness averages, biomass, and stem counts (especially forbs), and breaking up the plant species dominance resulting from dormant season burn windows. Our panelists will bring fresh voices to how we can learn from listening to our fire-dependent plants and animals and let the fire effects lead us toward desired outcomes.

With increasing wildfire activity due to changes in climate, smoke will likely become more prevalent and continue to have an effect on society. Earlier this year, smoke from Canada wildfires lowered air quality in the eastern U.S. to its worst levels in recorded history. As the climate heats up and creates drier conditions, smoky skies will grow increasingly common. Health concerns and prescribed burning actions needed to restore functioning ecosystems will be impacted by already smoky conditions across the country. Panelists include research meteorologists, air quality experts, and fire practitioners. Together, they will explore how we can address and adapt to a smoky future.

This panel discussion will explore how different types of fire history information (Indigenous Knowledge and physical archives), when considered together, provide improved context for understanding the ecologies and processes that are linked to the restoration and stewardship of fire-adapted communities. The panelists include Indigenous Knowledge holders and practitioners, and experts in tree-ring, sedimentary, and archeological fire history, who have collaboratively used fire history information to bridge cultures and knowledge systems. The discussion will use case studies in the Upper Great Lakes Region where a diverse set of partners wove these types of knowledge together to restore culture fire to the benefit of globally-rare pine barrens communities.

J. Morgan Varner (Tall Timbers Research Station) gives a plenary talk at the 7th Fire in eastern Oak Forests Conference in Tyler, Texas. This presentation was recorded on May 18, 2023.

Chris Zou (Oklahoma State University) presents his research at the 7th Fire in eastern Oak Forests Conference in Tyler, Texas. This presentation was recorded on May 16, 2023.

Charlotte Reemts (The Nature Conservancy, Texas) presents at the 7th Fire in eastern Oak Forests Conference in Tyler, Texas. This presentation was recorded on May 16, 2023.

Norma Fowler (University of Texas at Austin) presents at the 7th Fire in eastern Oak Forests Conference in Tyler, TX. This presentation was recorded on May 16, 2023.

Dan Dey (USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station) gives a plenary talk at the 7th Fire in Eastern Oak Forests Conference in Tyler, Texas. This presentation was recorded on May 16, 2023.

Bill Bartush (Lower Mississippi Valley Joint Venture) opens the 7th Fire in Eastern Oak Forests Conference in Tyler, Texas. This presentation was recorded May 16, 2023

David Godwin (Southern Fire Exchange) leads a panel discussion with experts Louise Loudermilk (USFS - Southern Research Station), Nick Larson (USDA Forest Service - North Carolina), John McCabe (Forest Preserves of Cook County), and Polly Weigand (Central Pine Barrens Commission) on using prescribed fire in urban and suburban environments. They highlight success stories, common themes, and lessons learned from controlled burns in the WUI.

Lauren Pile (USDA Forest Service) leads a panel discussion with experts Paul Charland (US Fish and Wildlife Service), Jim Cox (Tall Timbers Research Station), Marcus Lashley (University of Florida), and Susan Loeb (USFS Southern Research Station) on using prescribed fire for managing wildlife habitats. They discuss the pros and cons and how the lack of fire at the necessary scale, frequency, intensity/severity, and seasonality affect wildlife populations.

This webinar, co-hosted by CAFMS and the North Atlantic Fire Science Exchange, highlights the research of Arun Regmi, Melissa Krey, and Jesse Kreye from Penn State University. This research has far-reaching implications for controlled burn programs in the region and throughout the U.S. The researchers look forward to expanding their study and gathering more data on the demand for and attitudes towards controlled burns on private lands.