The Burning Issues Workshop is an annual event hosted by the Michigan Prescribed Fire Council in-person and virtually to bring together professionals and anyone interested in prescribed fire from around Michigan to network and learn about current issues/topics in this field.

Click the link to redirect to this year’s event page for full details.

Registration via EventBrite

In-Person Registration Closes Jan 28

Online Registration Closes Feb 4

Burning Issues and Annual MPFC Meeting

This annual prescribed fire workshop is designed to enable land managers, researchers, resource specialists, biologists, ecologists and fire practitioners an opportunity to hear and learn from different areas of expertise in a format designed to identify gaps in knowledge and communication, and work toward solutions to issues that complicate our collective wildland fire and ecological restoration work.

The event will include two days of presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions geared toward protecting, conserving, and expanding the safe use of prescribed fire on Michigan’s landscape and beyond.

TOPICS

Topics this year will include cultural burning, smoke management, fire and herptiles, fire and bats, and more! A full schedule of sessions and speakers will be released prior to the event.

FOOD

Lunch will be provided Tuesday and Wednesday of the conference (please specify any dietary restrictions in your registration). There are places on-site and nearby to grab your own breakfasts and dinners.

VENUE

The workshop will be hosted in a facility at Fort Custer Training Center in Augusta, MI.

Virtual options are available to view the live stream and post questions via Microsoft Teams. A link will be e-mailed the day prior and morning of the event. Recordings will be available to all attendees after the event if consented by the presenters.

LODGING

The lodging at Fort Custer is a hotel-style private room with a bathroom shared with one other room (same gender). It costs $22.50-$30 per night. Breakfast is available at the cafeteria on site for additional cost. Call the Fort Custer office to book a room at 269-282-7508. Other hotel accommodations are also nearby in Augusta and Battle Creek.

COST

The cost for online and in-person registration is $90 (+$7.88 processing fee) for the two-day workshop. We appreciate your support as this covers the cost of the workshop and is our main source of income for the annual fire council budget.

Scholarships are available for students and those in financial need. Contact info@firecouncil.org prior to registration to receive a promo code for free online participation or $45 in-person participation. Presenters have the option to receive free registration, contact info@firecouncil.org for details.

SPONSORS/SILENT AUCTION

A silent auction will take place throughout Feb 6 with winners announced that evening to raise funds for the annual fire council budget to promote fire training and public outreach opportunities. Cash or Debit/Credit will be accepted from winners present that evening.

We are looking for sponsors! Contact info@firecouncil.org if you or your organization are interested in sponsoring and receive recognition and publicity based on the tier of your gift.

Sponsorship Levels

Fire Cache Level (In-kind): donate an item for our silent auction to help our annual fund (does not have to be fire related), your logo/name on item bid form. Contact Ashley Cole-Wick at colewick@msu.edu for silent auction contributions.

Drip Torch Level ($100): sponsor a student participant, your logo/name on sponsor slideshow

Backfire Level ($200): sponsor a speaker, custom slide on sponsor slideshow at event

Headfire Level ($500): sponsor a session, your logo/name on program material at event, name tagged on at least 1 social media post leading up to event, recognition during a session, 1 free registration

Burn Boss Level ($1000): event sponsor, your logo/name on program material at event, spoken recognition during event open/close, name tagged on all social media posts related to the event, 2 free registrations

2024 SPONSORS

Event Sponsor: Edward Lowe Foundation

Session Sponsors: Blue Heron Ministries, City of Ann Arbor Natural Areas Preservation, Native Connections

Scholarship Sponsors: OCBA Landscape Architects and David Borneman LLC

LSFSC’s Smoke TOOLS Workshop (in-person): Monday, Feb 5, 2024

LSFSC’s Smoke TOOLS Workshop (pre-workshop) will take place on Monday, February 5th from 10:00 am -5:00 pm (with a lunch break).

Location - Fort Custer Training Center, Fort Custer Education Center, Room E177

Instructors – Trent Wickman and Alexia Prosperi, Air Resource Specialists with the Eastern Regional Office, USDA Forest Service.

Overview - Smoke management and smoke hazards are one of the most important things to plan for and manage when doing a prescribed burn, or to consider during any wildfire suppression. This is an active participation “hands-on” workshop where we will work through exercises using online smoke tools. This is a good introductory workshop for anyone – those who have not had much smoke modeling and management exposure, or as an excellent refresher for those who have had another smoke course.

Registration and Fee - There is $25 non-refundable fee to participate. Registration is required and is only open to those who also register to attend the Michigan Prescribed Fire Council’s Annual Meeting / Burning Issues Workshop on February 6-7, 2024. Space is limited to 35 in-person participants and will be on a first-come first-serve basis. Once you register you will receive an email confirmation, the required pre-work (pre-work is minimal), the agenda, and other instructions (email will come from mcgowan-stinski.1@osu.edu). If space is still available two-weeks prior to the workshop, registration will open to those not attending Burning Issues as well an announcement will be made at that time: contact info@firecouncil.org to be added to the notification list.

This opportunity provided in partnership with Lake States Fire Science Consortium and Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium.

REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED

Registrants, please check your e-mail (check you spam/trash for emails from EventBrite and/or sdiep@naturecenter.org) for details and agenda with virtual links. Sessions will start promptly at 9:00am (EST) Feb 7 & 8

Contact info@firecouncil.org for any technical issues.

This annual prescribed fire workshop is designed to enable land managers, researchers, resource specialists, biologists, ecologists and fire practitioners an opportunity to hear and learn from different areas of expertise in a format designed to identify gaps in knowledge and communication, and work toward solutions to issues that complicate our collective wildland fire and ecological restoration work.

The event will include presentations, panel discussions, and interactive sessions geared toward protecting, conserving, and expanding the safe use of prescribed fire on Michigan’s landscape and beyond.

IN-PERSON LOCATION: Camp Grayling, Building 601 H, Grayling, MI

ATTENDANCE ONLINE or IN-PERSON: $90 per person

Deadline for in-person registration Jan 22, 2023

Deadline for online registration Jan 29, 2023

This year's event will be in-person with an online live interaction option. Both in-person and online will have the same attendance fee. This event functions as our annual revenue generating event. All profits support the efforts of the Michigan Prescribed Fire Council and allow us to maintain free council membership for a variety of professionals that volunteer their time to collaborate and push initiatives to further prescribed fire safety and capacity in Michigan. We appreciate your support!

STUDENTS & FINANCIAL NEED:

Speakers and panelists will be given a promo code to register for free. Students and individuals with financial need can contact info@firecouncil.org for a promo code for free online participation or 50% off in-person cost.

LODGING:

Limited free lodging is available at Camp Grayling military billets (Building 654Q) upon request, email info@firecouncil.org with names, emails, and phone numbers for all guests requesting to stay to reserve your spots. We have 50 rooms available first-come first-serve. Rooms have 2 beds and a private bathroom with key entry. Bring your own bedding, pillow, towels, soap, toilet paper, etc. and clean your room prior to check out. Check in available Feb 6-8 or Feb 7-8. There are not kitchen or cafeteria facilities so you will need to go into town for dinner.

OR arrange your own lodging at nearby hotels or AirBnB in the Grayling area.

SCHEDULE:

DAY ONE (8:00am-4:00pm) will include presentations by professionals in the non-profit, private, state, and military sectors on the following topics. Panel sessions will include a brief presentation by each panelist followed by a Q&A with all panelists on that topic.

• KEYNOTE: Game Bird Habitats

  • Don Bonnette, Forester MI DNR

• Panel 1: Birds and Prescribed Fire

  • Mike Monfils, Michigan Natural Features Inventory

  • Mitch Lettow, Southwest Michigan Land Conservancy

  • Rich Keith, Director of Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory

• Panel 2: Oak Savanna Management

  • Jesse Lincoln, Conservation Ecologist at Michigan Natural Features Inventory

  • Justin Heslinga, Conservation Director of Land Conservancy of West Michigan

  • Mary Parr, Stewardship Manager at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute

• Panel 3: Prescribed Fire Monitoring and Research

  • Brian Stearns, US Forest Service Huron-Manistee National Forest

  • Todd Aschenbach, Professor at Grand Valley State University

  • Tyler Allyn-White, Research Biologist at Kalamazoo Nature Center

• Panel 4: Prescribed Fire in the Urban Interface

  • Katie Carlisle, Natural Resources Coordinator at Huron-Clinton Metroparks

  • Dave Borneman, David Borneman, LLC - Restoring Nature with Fire

  • Lee Osterland, Fire Specialist MI DNR

4-6pm Social Networking, Silent Auction, and Libations led by Ryan Koziatek, Stewardship Field Director at Kalamazoo Nature Center Wine and beer provided free of charge. Silent Auction winners will be announced at 5:00pm

DAY TWO (8:00am-3:00pm)

• Public Strategic MI PFC Annual Meeting All MI PFC Steering Committee members and representatives of organizations involved with fire throughout Michigan are highly encouraged to attend to discuss barriers to implementing fire in Michigan and potential solutions. (A link to this session will be sent out separately to include those not attending Burning Issues).

• Introduction to Burn Plan Writing Skill-Building Workshop: an introductory walk through of the NWCG 484-1 Prescribed Fire Planning Form aimed towards entry-level prescribed fire participants interested in learning more specifics of planning how prescribed fire is implemented. This workshop is not an official certification program but will help attendees build more advanced skills. This session is highly encouraged for those that plan to participate in the upcoming TREX.

MENU:

We encourage everyone to bring your own thermos/mug and a water bottle to reduce waste!

Both days will have coffee and grab-and-go breakfast/snacks (such as fruit, granola bars, donuts, etc.) available throughout the morning.

Lunch Day 1: Fajita Bar

Beer and Wine will be provided during the Social Networking

Lunch Day 2: Breakfast Burrito Bar

*If you have dietary restrictions that you are concerned about, please leave notes in your registration or contact info@firecouncil.org before Jan 30 and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

CALL FOR SPONSORS: Financial or In-Kind Items (for silent auction fundraiser)

The Council is seeking organizations to sponsor this event. Sponsors can choose a session to sponsor (covering the cost of speakers and panelists), contribute to student attendance scholarships, or donate to the event/council in general. Depending on the level of support, sponsors will have their logo displayed on the slideshows and event program and in social media, e-mail notifications related to the event and a free ticket to the event. Please contact info@firecouncil.org for more information on the different levels and benefits.