The USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station’s Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory (Fire Lab) has updated their website, https://www.firelab.org. Check out the updated website for information on the Fire Sciences Lab, the Fire, Fuel and Smoke Program, upcoming seminars, data, software, applications, products, and much more.

Salish Kootenai College (SKC) in Pablo, MT, now offers a Master of Science in Natural Resource Management Degree. The new degree is a result of a collaboration that took place over several years between Natural Resources Management Graduate Studies Program Director Dr. Rick Everett (a member of the NRFSN Planning Team), SKC, the University of Idaho College of Natural Resources (UI CNR), the National Science Foundation Tribal Colleges and University Program, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe’s Natural Resource Department.  The degree program is accredited by The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).

This advanced degree will guide students in furthering their knowledge of natural resources and applied practices in Forest Management, Fire Ecology and Management, Hydrology, and Wildlife Management.  The program is a mixture of online and in-person classes to give students maximum flexibility for those that are employed or don’t live in the area. 

The program was developed as an offshoot of cooperation between UI and SKC that began in 2015 when Professor Penny Morgan, an Emerita of Fire Ecology and Forest Ecology from UI (and former member of the NRFSN Team), worked with Dr. Everett to develop common curriculum between fire ecology courses. Ultimately, they wanted to provide a pipeline to recruit students from SKC to enroll in the UI’s graduate program. Then, beginning in 2018, Dr. Everett, Dr. Alistair Smith (UI CNR) and Dr. Jerry McMurty (UI) submitted a successful grant proposal to fund a graduate program at SKC. The program officially launched September 2021.

Congratulations to Rick, SKC, and everyone involved in developing this program. We look forward to watching it grow and succeed!

--adapted from a July 22, 2021 Char-Koosta News press release   

The Journal Fire is seeking submissions for a special issue "Effects of Wildfire on Biodiversity." Submissions are due on or before October 31st, 2021. The goal of this Special Issue is to compile a set of scientific articles describing how wildfire has impacted diversity in the ecosystem where they occurred. Editors invite articles that present measured or modeled effects of wildfire on diversity across various scales and dimensions of fire regime metrics and biological taxa.

Information and instructions can be found here.

Mike DeGrosky, a member of the Northern Rockies Fire Science Network Advisory Board, retired in June from his position as the Fire Protection Bureau Chief for the Montana DNRC. Mike’s fire career began as a volunteer firefighter while he was still in high school and, over a career spanning more than 40 years, served in capacities including hotshot, fire management specialist, fire management officer, volunteer fire department captain, career fire department training officer and, for 20 years, as a consultant and leadership advisor to fire and emergency service organizations. 

Of his role as a member of the NRFSN Advisory Board, Mike said “I was honored to be asked to join and I appreciated the opportunity to help out a vibrant organization performing the vital role of disseminating science and cultivating networks of managers and scientists. It’s not a role you often see people from state agencies in, and it speaks highly of NRFSN that I always felt welcomed and my perspective valued. My role on the Advisory Board helped foster a valuable partnership between NRFSN and our agency." In retirement, Mike plans to do a lot more fishing, skiing, bicycling, and traveling, but intends to stay engaged with the fire community as well.

NRFSN greatly appreciated the thoughtful contributions and perspectives that Mike brought to our organization. Best wishes in your next chapter, Mike!