Working with Fire for Resilient Landscapes and Communities

Learn about the state of our forest, policy on prescribed fire use and how planned fire can reduce wildfire risk and improve forest health. The meeting will be held on December 3, 2026. The following presentations include; the benefits of prescribed burning, the Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Program, legal liability, and permits and policy. NOTE, we will use your name and affiliaion as enterered when paying your Registration Fee on your Name Tag. Your Name Tag will be your admission ticket and available at the door starting at 8:30 am the day of the event. This meeting is supported in part by Federal award NA24NOSX419C0020 from the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, administered by the Office for Coastal Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce provided to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the presenter(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA, the U.S. Department of Commerce, or the Minnesota DNR. Agenda: 8:30 Doors open, Name Tag Pick-up, and Refreshments. 9:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks, 9:10 The State of the Forest and Wildfire Risk, Sam Reed, Ph.D. Climate & Conservation Manager Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness 9:40 Benefits of Prescribed Burning, Lane Johnson, Research Coordinator & Forester, Cloquet Forestry Center, University of Minnesota 10:10 Certified Prescribed Burn Manager Program, Eli Sagor, Extension Professor, Cloquet Forestry Center, University of Minnesota 10:30 Break 10:50 Legal Liability, Mike Lynch, Forest Stewards Guild, Great Lakes Director 11:10 Firewise, Teresa Floberg Project Director, Fire Adapted Communities. Firewise, Dovetail Partners 11:30 MNDNR Prescribed Burning History and Policy, Paul Lundgren, Wildfire Section Manager, MN DNR Forestry. 12:00 Lunch, Catered by Valentini’s 1:00 Lessons Learned, Aaron Kania, District Ranger, US Forest Service, Kawishiwi District (Retired). 1:30 Facilitated Group Discussion, Abby Andrus, Facilitator, Dovetail Partners. 2:30 Wrap-Up, Mathew Graeve, The Nature Conservancy 3:00 Adjourn