2009 Fire Ecology Institute for Educators

This was a fantastic course. What a great opportunity to spend a full week in Durango and really get out in the field for some hands on education. The accommodations at the college were great even if the food was something to be desired. The price was also right at just $50 for the whole week. Thank you for a great experience. The following reflection will cover some of the highlights from the course for me.
First off I really enjoyed the guest speakers who came into present information from all angles of forest management and the impacts of fire on the health of forests. They all really knew their stuff and together painted a very intricate picture of the surrounding forest ecology and the role that fire plays. It was amazing to see how many different agencies are involved in managing our public lands. It was also very clear that there is a huge conflict building in the west between public and private interests as more and more people move into the wildland urban interface.
Secondly I thought the best parts of the class were the field experiences. It was amazing to really see the size and scope of the Missionary Ridge fire and to connect many of the topics that had been discussed in the classroom the day before. It was really interesting to see all the work that John had done to mitigate the post fire impacts just above Lemon reservoir. This also really brought home the connection between water quality and forest health. It was interesting to see the succession process taking place 7 years after the fact and to think about all the ongoing management that must continue, like weed control and erosion issues. I thought the trip to Mesa Verde was also very interesting. I don’t think that I realized how many fires had impacted the park in the last 10 years. It was interesting to see the problems and issues that the land management teams in the park had to deal with and how different they were compared to the Forest Service or the BLM. To me these were the most useful parts of the class.
Finally I think the resources that were provided to us will be extremely useful in the classroom next year. The projects and activities in the Project Learning Tree book will be a great help in putting together field activities for my students. I will be attempting to do some Dendrochronolgy with samples taken from the field. I will also be doing some tree identification as well a few activities involving the pine beetle, which is a huge issue in Summit County. I’m sure there are many other useful tools that were provided to us that I have not had time to really explore. It is nice to have more activities and resources than I know what to do with.
Once again I think that this class was extremely valuable. The topic of fire and public land management is a very important one for people who live in the west to understand. I think the view of fire and the role it plays in nature are changing and it is important that the next generation truly understand all different aspects of this complicated issue. Hopefully I can take some of this new knowledge and pass in on to my class.