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Spring is in the air! With the arrival of the change in seasons, we have many upcoming events to provide opportunities to engage with the Fireshed Coalition, starting with a seminar on April 4th.
Ellis Margolis is a research ecologist at the USGS New Mexico Landscapes Field Station, based in Santa Fe. He received a Ph.D. in Watershed Management from the University of Arizona. Since joining the USGS in 2015, he has continued his research on the interactions between fire, forests, and climate and specializes in dendrochronology (the study of tree rings dating). Presently, his research focuses on land use and climate effects on fire regimes and forests of the southwestern U.S.
Here is a great blog post on the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network website about lessons learned from the 2010 Four Mile Canyon fire near Boulder, CO. The author, Dave Lasky of Gravitas Peak Wildland Fire Module, personally treated 600 acres of forest within the burn scar prior to the burn. The blog post highlights the importance of following up mechanical treatments with prescribed fire to reduce surface fuels. The post also discusses how home construction, weather, and other factors often play a much larger role than vegetation in determining fire behavior and fire impacts to communities.
The GSFFC is a coalition of public and private organizations. The GSFFC is not a subdivision of the State of New Mexico, as defined in the state’s Open Meetings Act, §§ 10-15-1 to 10-15-4 NMSA 1978. Although federal agencies participate in the GSFFC, the Coalition is not a federal advisory board and was not created by a federal agency, as defined by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), 5.U.S.C. app. 2, §§ 1 to 16 (2012). The GSFFC operates informally to support its partners, and is not incorporated as a non-profit, 501(C)(3), partnership, or other legal status.