Description

From the Preface...'Three factors provided the impetus for holding this conference and workshop. First, wildland fire managers are tasked with increasing the emphasis on prescribed fire and other fuel management techniques as part of an effort to reintroduce fire as an important ecological process in wildland systems, and also to reduce the incidence, size, and damage associated with large, high-intensity wildland fire events. Second, the role of the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) is to supplement existing fire science and to fund projects for the express purpose of providing "a scientific basis and rationale for implementing fuels management activities, with a focus on activities that will lead to development and application of tools for managers.” Finally, technological advances in remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and computer modeling offer great opportunities for developing new management tools. This conference and workshop (funded in part by the JFSP and NASA) sought to improve the wildland fire community*s collective knowledge, to foster debate, and spark innovation through information synthesis, sharing and transfer, particularly with regards to these new technologies and their implications for wildland fire management. Through collaboration we can integrate spatial technologies and ecological principles and together, with the proper tools in hand, we can confidently cross the millennium and enter a new age in fire management. After the opening ceremony, 17 invited papers were presented the first day of the conference. These informative papers summarized and synthesized research and management efforts under 5 topic headings including Overview (3 papers), GIS and Remote Sensing Technologies (4 papers), Mapping (3 papers), Modeling (4 papers), and Treatments (3 papers). The organizers of the conference solicited authors who could provide a state-of-the-science overview of pre-selected topics essential to the wildland fire community as we move into the 21st century. After peer review, these papers will be published in a special issue of the International Journal of Wildland Fire.'