If you missed the conference or would like to see presentations you missed, the virtual conference is now available from the www.iawfonline.org website for a few more months.  This is the first event the IAWF has streamed live and then made available on-line for sharing with a larger audience.  The keynote presentation can be viewed for free while individual conference speakers are available for a fee.  Copies of the Fire Monks book are available from the IAWF online bookstore. http://www.iawfonline.org/books.php

The generous conference sponsors are the US National Park Service, the Joint Fire Science Program, Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council (AFAC) and Phos-Chek.

March/April 2012

Twenty-two years ago, a small group of individuals formed an organization to deal with the expanding issue of wildland fire. Today, that small group has grown to become the global leader in sharing wildfire research, technology transfer, data collection and innovative education programs. We continue to be focused on what the founders of the group set as the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) keystone, “to truly be an association of individuals, organizations, agencies and businesses from around the world, joining together to understand and address wildfire issues and to learn from each other.”

IAWF now spans the globe through our websites, publications, conferences and joint training, as well as through webinars, tweets, list-serves and online newsletters. We reach our members and beyond with emerging issues and discoveries, and we engage people in the exploration of key wildfire topics, like firefighter safety, fuels mitigation, fire prevention, the wildland urban interface and a host of other topics.

Through our publications Wildfire® and the International Journal of Wildland Fire®, we reach audiences online and in print with the latest, wide ranging, wildfire-related issues and research. Through FireNet®, our online news alert, we reach thousands instantly around the world with wildfire news updates and discussions. We invite article and research submissions to share with our readers. Both our national and global Wildfire Awareness Week® that launched last year will be even bigger this year, as we work with new U.S. partners and with a host of international groups and organizations, including the World Bank and the United Nations. And because our field continues to expand and evolve, we reach out and support emerging new professionals by awarding two scholarships each year to students in advanced studies related to some aspect of wildland fire science.

Our staff, board members and members-at-large are involved with many other groups and organizations in a variety of projects, committees, taskforces, special initiatives and joint training here in the United States and around the world, keeping the IAWF connected and engaged. So depending on where you live, it may be called a wildfire, bushfire, brushfire, range fire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire or veldfire. The bottom line is these fires are touching a broader spectrum of people and organizations globally each year.

To learn, to teach, to share and to communicate has been the real strength of our IAWF organization. As I begin my first year as the 5th President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, I am excited to be working with such a distinguished and extremely qualified global Board of Directors and an exceptional IAWF staff. I am looking forward to building on our extraordinary strengths gained from 22 years of experience, taking us to new and innovative levels involving new partnerships, building our membership base and expanding our global presence and involvement.

In the coming weeks, you will be hearing and reading about new and exciting initiatives, conferences, webinars, state-of-the-art Web-based training and other collaborative programs dealing with wildland fire, the growing issue of the wildland urban interface, community education and global wildfire communication efforts.

If you are not yet a member, I encourage you to join and become a part of the global conversation. If you are a member, I encourage you to get more involved: contact me at president@iawfonline.org, any one of our board members or our Executive Director to learn more and become engaged.

And last but not least, thanks to Chuck Bushey for his leadership over the past four years. He has set the bar very high. Chuck will continue to be an active member and engaged in a number of efforts, including continuing as the Editor/Moderator of IAWF’s FireNET®.

Elected officials, sociologists, firefighters, educators, insurance professionals as well as journalists and residents of fire prone areas will find value in the Conference.   Speakers from the around the US, Canada, Australia, Spain, Bolivia, South Africa and New Zealand will engage the audience in expanding understanding of the issues and opportunities as well as exploring lessons learned in other areas and connecting with people interested in similar work.  The keynote presentation on April 17 is by Colleen Morton Busch, author of Fire Monks:  Zen Mind Meets Wildfire at the Gates of Tassajara, and Rev. Kansan David Zimmerman, former director of Tassajara, a Buddhist community in California impacted by the 2008 Basin Complex Fire.

The conference opens April 17 at the Hilton Hotel in Seattle, WA, and concludes with a field trip on April 20.  Conference information and registration is available at:  http://iawfonline.org/conferences.php or by calling 1(888)440-IAWF (4293).    Presentations and discussions will take place in two concurrent tracks and there will be ample opportunities for discussion with presenters and with attendees.  The Conference will also include a formal poster session and exhibitor trade show at the hotel.  “New this year will be a virtual conference platform allowing a greater opportunity for viewing presentations during the conference or for up to three months after the conference for those unable to join us in Seattle,” added Bushey.  “We’re making every effort to make this a valuable but affordable learning and sharing experience.”

The International Journal of Wildland Fire relies on the skill and insights of its Associate Editors to help ensure the relevance and high technical quality of papers we publish. An Associate Editor oversees the efficient review of manuscripts in a discrete subject area and comments both on the scientific quality and novelty of papers to aid the Editors in Chief in their decisions. Associate Editors are critical to a high quality peer-review system.

The Journal is delighted to launch an annual award for an Outstanding Associate Editor. The first recipient, and the winner for the Outstanding Associate Editor for 2010, is Robert E. (‘Bob’) Keane.

Dr Keane is a research ecologist with the United States Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory. He received his BSc degree in forest engineering from the University of Maine, his MSc degree in forest ecology from the University of Montana, and his PhD degree in forest ecology from the University of Idaho. He was project leader of the Fire Ecology and Fuels project from 2006 to 2008, lead scientist for the LANDFIRE prototype project, director of the Fire Modeling Institute from 1997 to 2010. His recent research covers: (1) developing ecological computer simulation models for the exploring landscape, fire and climate dynamics; (2) conducting field research on the sampling, describing, modelling and mapping of fuel characteristics; and (3) investigating the ecology and restoration of whitebark pine.

Bob has served as an Associate Editor for IJWF since 2005,and in that time has acted as an AE for over 40 papers. His efficient handling of papers benefits authors and his considered syntheses of reviewer comments, as well as his own comments and insights, are of great help to the Editors in making decisions on manuscripts and providing guidance to authors for improving their papers. On top of this, he has also acted as a reviewer and has authored a number of papers.

Congratulations Bob. The International Journal of Wildland Fire is a stronger forum for wildland fire research thanks to your contributions.

GLENDALE — The village’s fire chief has been appointed to the executive board of a non-profit group that helps manage wildfires throughout the country.

Dave Moore, who also works with the Ohio Division of Forestry, USDI Fish and Wildlife Service and the USDA Forest Service, has been named treasurer of the International Association of Wildland Fire.

The IAWF is a non-profit organization made up of fire experts who work with communities to better understand and manage wildland fire.

“I look forward to serving on the IAWF executive committee, utilizing the experience I have gained working for the village of Glendale and other fire service agencies to ensure that the IAWF remains fiscally responsible and able to meet the needs of our IAWF members,” Moore said of his appointment.

“Wildfires are a threat in urban areas as well as rural,” he said, “and it is critical that all fire service agencies have the knowledge and resources available to combat wildfires as they happen in our communities.”

Moore also works with Springfield Township, the Hamilton County Park District and the U.S. Forest Service on wildfire issues.

Bailey is the Director of the Wildland Fire, Natural Resource, and Natural Hazard Programs for the International Code Council (ICC) in Washington, D.C.  ICC is a member-focused association dedicated to helping the building safety community and construction industry provide safe, sustainable and affordable construction through the development of codes and standards used in the design, building and compliance process. Most U.S. communities and many countries choose the International Codes.

Bailey retired from the USDA Forest Service in 2005, where he served as the National Program Manager for Wildland Urban Interface Fire and Firewise. Prior to his Washington DC assignment he was the Supervisory Forester, Fire and Aviation Staff Officer for the Lolo National Forest in Missoula, MT. With over 32 years experience in forestry and wildland fire, including 12 years as one of the Incident Commanders of a Type 1 National Incident Management Team that dealt with the most complex and dangerous wildland fires, Bailey brings a very unique and solid background to his Presidency of IAWF.

Bailey serves on numerous National and International Boards, Associations and Groups including the National Institute for the Elimination of Catastrophic Wildfire, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Global Wildland Fire Alliance and the International Wildfire Disaster Advisory Committee, and the National Wildland Urban Interface Council. “The IAWF is intensifying efforts to deal with the escalating wildfire problems facing parts of most every continent through new partnerships, technology, research sharing, and education,” said Bailey.

The IAWF Presidency is a two year, voluntary position.

Bailey assumes the Presidency from Chuck Bushey who served as the IAWF President for 5 years. Bushey is owner of Montana Prescribed Fire Services, Inc. in Billings, MT and he will continue his IAWF work as the moderator of IAWF’s listserv “FireNet,” an online global wildland fire information exchange service and as the Incident Commander for IAWF’s upcoming Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire Conference scheduled for April in Seattle, WA.

About the International Association of Wildland Fire – The IAWF; a nonprofit, 501(c) (3) professional association, represents members of the global wildland fire community and is uniquely positioned as an independent organization whose membership includes experts in all aspects of wildland fire management. IAWF’s independence and breadth of global membership expertise allows it to offer a neutral forum for the consideration of important, at times controversial, wildland fire issues. IAWF produces Wildfire magazine, the International Journal of Wildland Fire, and FireNet as well as conferences and joint training opportunities. For more information, please check our sites at: www.iawfonline.org and www.wildfireworld.org .

Photos of Dan Bailey and Chuck Bushey are available upon request from Paula Nelson, Public Affairs Officer at publicaffairs@iawfonline.org or by calling 406-821-0042.