Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference 2018

AUTHORS. Craig Maier, Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium; Paul Charland, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; John Harrington, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Hannah Spaul, The Nature Conservancy; Paul Zedler, University of Wisconsin-Madison

ABSTRACT. Development and transfer of wildland fire science in the Midwest is influenced by interactions, relationships and trust between researchers and managers. Active engagement among researchers, land managers, funders, and policy makers is needed to improve the development and application of fire science to current management challenges. The Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium (TPOS) formed in 2012 specifically to increase the understanding and adoption of fire science. TPOS is funded by the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), and is one of 15 regional fire science exchanges. The Fire Science Exchange Network (FSEN) provides the most relevant, current wildland fire science information to federal, state, local, tribal, and private stakeholders within ecologically similar regions. TPOS brings fire managers, practitioners, and scientists together to address regional fire management needs and challenges. We will demonstrate how outreach and collaboration lead to land manager understanding and implementation of new research, as well as informing new research proposals. We employ several methods to listen and learn about what types of knowledge and information are needed to help use fire to effectively manage our vital conservation lands. In turn, TPOS develops field days and interactive workshops with agendas organized around land managers’ questions and fire management challenges. Your participation with TPOS and other fire science exchanges can help move researcher-manager interaction in a positive direction.