A partnership between a Florida community and conservation specialists working on several tracts of public and private land strives to a longleaf pine landscape heavily impacted by development.  Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, wildlife has been observed thriving in the area, and several native plants that were threatened have been noted. Students from the University of Florida currently use the area as an outdoor classroom.  http://www.ocala.com/news/20161001/neighbors-pull-together-to-restore-sandhill-landscape
 

With the help of a grant from US Forest Service’s Wood Innovations program, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Forest Resources Center in the UA System Division of Agriculture are using wood from a collaborative forest restoration project to conduct a research project in several areas of forest conservation.
https://news.uark.edu/articles/35841/fay-jones-school-arkansas-forest-resources-center-receive-grant
 

The Texas A&M Forest Service has determined that post oaks are dying at a rate of 1.2 times faster than other tree species in East Texas. Because of their similar habitat ranges and drought tolerances, eastern red cedar and cedar elm were chosen to compare with the post oaks. There was a 30 percent increase in post oak mortality, while the other two species maintained their mortality rates between 2006 and 2011. The study determined that an 88-percent decrease in post oak regeneration occurred after the 2011 drought while regeneration increased during the same period for eastern red cedar and cedar elm. Data from the Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) helped identify trends over the past 10 years of the species to enable determining mortality. A lack of natural fire to keep competition low and drought contribute to the loss of post oak. To learn more visit http://tfsweb.tamu.edu/content/article.aspx?id=25336

 

Dr. Peter Bates, a professor of Geosciences and Natural Resources and Conservation at Western Carolina University, has collected data from prescribed burns areas for several years. These areas act as classrooms for the students in his program. He hopes to be able to use areas recently burned during the fall fire season to broaden the work already being done by his department. To learn more visit http://wcqs.org/post/wcu-try-utilizing-wildfire-burnsites-classrooms#stream/0
 

Researchers look to determine if the southeastern U.S. will experience more prolonged dry periods like the current one. Will higher temperatures and precipitation pattern changes become the “norm” across the southeast, resulting in more prolonged fall fire seasons?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/11/30/the-raging-wildfires-in-the-southeast-could-be-a-glimpse-into-the-future/?utm_term=.ea06eeddd511
 

The International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) is seeking proposals for presentations at a workshop being held April 25-27, 2017 in Reno, NV. The Call for Presentations closes on February 3, 2017. To learn more about the type and context of presentations they are seeking visit http://www.iawfonline.org/CohesiveStrategyWorkshop/Call%20for%20Presentations.php. For general information on the workshop visit http://www.iawfonline.org/CohesiveStrategyWorkshop/
 

January 10, 2017 - South Central FLN: Interior Highlands Collaborative Partners / Russellville, AR Information / RSVP: Brenda Luper (bluper@tnc.org)

January 11, 2017 - South Central FLN: Gulf Mountain WMA Restoration Tour Information / RSVP: Brenda Luper (bluper@tnc.org)

January 24, 2017 - Georgia Blue Ridge FLN Annual Workshop / Blairsville, GA
The workshop was originally scheduled for November 29. There will be morning presentations on a range of topics, from eco-zone mapping to the FAC Southern Appalachian Coalition, followed by afternoon discussions of topics such as barriers to fire implementation and communications. 
Information / RSVP: Malcolm Hodges (mhodges@tnc.org) 

February 9, 2017 - How Important is it to Mimic Natural Fire Regimes in the Southeastern Coastal Plain? Webinar -1:00 – 2:00 pm Eastern Join presenter Reed Noss, Provost's Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Central Florida, as he discusses natural fire regimes for the southeastern Coastal Plain and how current management practices may or may not mimic important aspects of those fire regimes. To register visit http://www.eventbrite.com/e/sfe-webinar-how-important-is-it-to-mimic-natural-fire-regimes-in-the-se-coastal-plain-tickets-26685994528