The council's annual meeting will include sessions on burn history in the state, incident management, burning on private lands and more.

I'd like to invite you all to join us at this year's Annual Pennsylvania Prescribed Fire Council Meeting at the Ramada Conference Center in State College, on February 11-12, 2014. Here's a little about what you can expect: The sessions this year include a breadth of subjects relevant to prescribed fire implementation in PA. The session topics were chosen directly from comments received after summer surveys. You will pick two of the three topics listed each day, so come ready to participate with ideas, comments, questions and suggestions.

Session topics are:

Day 1:

Fire Scars and PA Burn History - Frequency of burn intervals in PA has varied over the centuries. Current research on red and pitch pine give us clues as to why.

Incident Within an Incident Sand Tables - Complex burns can become more complicated with unanticipated incidents. Test your skills and learn from others' responses to these unusual complicating factors. What should you know and how can you prepare? Come prepared to play out different scenarios dealing with this topic.

Affect of Burning on Red Oak Silvaculture - Some concerns have been expressed with burning in red oak stands, find out what the fire effects are and how stands of red oak respond to burning, including saw log values.

Day 2:

BehavePlus v5.0.1 fire modeling system and additional smoke modeling software - HANDS ON - Learn how to use these programs to fine tune your prescribed burn plan prescription and create smoke maps for your plan. Must pre-register for this, so we can ensure software is loaded in advance, and must bring your own computer.

French Creek Wildfire - Hear about the fire effects on this southeast PA forested habitat as a result of a large 2012 wildfire.

Burning on Private Lands - Status, opportunities, and obstacles to implementing prescribed fire on private properties, both farmland and forestland. Federal cost-share programs for burn plans and implementation. This is a facilitated interactive breakout, please bring your questions and experiences to the discussion.

Finally, the PA Prescribed Fire Council is very excited to introduce our special guest speaker, Tom Toman. Tom works for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and will present, 'Smoked Elk - Prescribed Fire Use for Elk Management'�, in which he shares his decades of experience using prescribed fire to benefit a host of wildlife species, including elk. Tom has worked in the prescribed fire world for 36 years. He retired from the Wyoming Game and Fish Department after 25 years of service. In 1995, Tom was hired by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and is now responsible for Science, Planning and Grant Funding programs out of their national headquarters, including planning and funding for prescribed fire.

FEE AND REGISTRATION:

Cost: $85.00 for both days- includes 2014 membership and free t-shirt
PSU (For 320 students) $10.00/day-includes 2014 membership-with proof of completion or current enrollment