OSU headed to Kansas to discuss prescribed fire in the Great Plains

Monday, November 7, 2016

Things are heating up for some Oklahoma State University faculty members as they prepare for their part in an upcoming workshop to discuss fire.

The Fire Summit 2016: Changing Fire Regimes is set for Dec. 7-9 at the Hilton Garden Inn Conference Center in Manhattan, Kansas. Through a grant from the U.S. Geological Survey South Central Climate Science Center, OSU is partnering with several agencies throughout the region to help fill any knowledge gaps about fire.

“We think this meeting will be beneficial for landowners, managers, firefighters and anyone else who works with fire in the Great Plains,” said John Weir, research associate in OSU’s Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management. “The summit will be three days packed full of valuable information concerning fire history in the area, success stories, policy and a litany of other topics.”

The agenda for the meeting includes presentations and discussions on state prescribed burning association reports, future directions for fire, smoke issues and fire weather.

“We also will talk about how to start up a fire association in your area and how to build partnerships and leverage prescribed fire training,” Weir said.

The event is co-sponsored by the Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition, Kansas State University Research and Extension, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, Joint Fire Science Program and the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange.

Tickets are $100 for agency and university personnel and $40 for landowners and students. More information, including the agenda and directions to the event along with registration, can be found by visiting eventbrite.com and searching for Fire Summit 2016: Changing Fire Regimes.