Preparing for the Next Big Wildfire Season:
Managing Fuels to Reduce Wildfire Risk in the Great Plains

Sponsored by the Rangeland Technology and Equipment Council (RTEC)
and the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange

Society For Range Management
66th Annual Meeting
Oklahoma City, OK
Sunday, February 3, 2013
1:00 - 5:00 PM

Co-Organizers:
Mike Pellant, USDI BLM, Boise, ID
Robert Cox, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX

The Rangeland Technology and Equipment Council (RTEC) is an informal organization of land managers, engineers, academia and private industry representatives interested in developing

new rehabilitation equipment and stategies. The roots of RTEC go back to 1946 when the need

for new site preparation and seeding equipment to increase forage production on western USA rangelands was a priority. Today RTEC emphasizes innovative technology and strategies to

improve land treatments on western rangelands through the supporting functions of equipment development and application of innovative technology.

This workshop is focused on practical approaches to managining fuels in the
Southern Great Plains to reduce the impacts of damaging wildfires. It is especially timely given the increase in wildfires in parts of the Southern Great Plains the past summer. The workshop will focus
on "how to" use livestock, mechanical, herbicide, and prescribed fire (and combinations of
these treatments) to efficiently and economically manage fuels to reduce the likelihood of wildfire spread and damage to human and natural resources. Workshop participants will be encouraged
to ask questions and share their experiences on this topic. At the end of the workshop a short
RTEC business meeting will be held to organize the 2014 RTEC workshop.

Lessons Learned from the Great Basin: Land of Big Fires and
Multiple Fuels Management Strategies [presentation]
Mike Pellant, USDI BLM Great Basin Restoration Initiative Coordinator
Boise, ID
      The Great Basin has been at the epicenter of rangeland wildfires with 22 million acres of rangelands
      burned since 1990. Lessons learned from implementing various fuels management stategies in the
      Great Basin will be shared.

Wildfires in the Southern Great Plains and Novel Approaches to Fuels Management [abstract] [presentation]
Dirac Twidwell, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK
      Overview of historical fire regime, how fuels are changing and the effects on current wildfires, is there a
      pattern to today's fires (urban/wildland interface, lightning versus human caused, etc.)

Grazing Strategies to Strategically Manipulate Fuels [presentation]
Kent Pfeiffer, Northern Prairies Land Trust/Nebraska Game & Parks Commission
Beatrice, NE
      Using grazing animals to create fuel conditions for prescribed burning and wildfire prevention by
      creating a mosaic of grazed and burned areas

Prescribed Fire to Manage Fuels [presentation]
Sandra Rideout-Hanzak, Texas A&M University - Kingsville
Kingsville, TX
      The basics of prescribed fire in the Southern Plains, and how to tailor prescriptions to achieve fuels
      management and other habitat goals.

Making Decisions on Sound Science [presentation]
Sherry Leis, Missouri State University
Springfield, MO
      The mission of the Great Plains Fire Science Exchange is to enhance fire science delivery by using
      new and existing mechanisms and outlets for outreach across the Great Plains and to stimulate       communication among the fire community to bridge the gap in information sharing.

Herbicides to Meet Fuel Management Objectives [presentation]
Ron Sosebee, Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
      Principles for successful use of herbicides on rangelands to meet fuels management objectives.

 

BUSINESS MEETING

For more information regarding RTEC or this workshop, contact:

             Mike Pellant or Robert Cox