Prescribed Fire and Wetlands: an Important but Rarely Told Story

Photo Credit: Jack McGowan-Stinski, Lake States Fire Science Consortium

PANEL DISCUSSION: Thursday, December 12, 2024 from 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM ET

Wetlands are the forgotten sibling of the prescribed fire world. While upland ecosystems across the Eastern U.S. have received significant attention for their fire-dependency, wetlands—characterized by their more episodic encounters with fire—rarely receive equitable fire management investments. Fire managers face unique challenges in these environments, where hydric soils, muck, and dense vegetation can prolong smoke production, encourage smoldering, and hinder vehicle access. As a result, fire-dependent wetlands nationwide have suffered, leading to declines in numerous plant and animal species. In this Fueling Collaboration panel discussion, we will explore the role of fire in various wetland ecosystems and examine the challenges and opportunities associated with its use. Join us as we hear from scientists, land managers, and biologists working in pocosins, marshes, swamps, bogs, and isolated wetlands.

This panel discussion has been approved for 1.5 Category 1 CFE's by the Society of American Foresters.

Moderator
Moderator information coming soon.

Jim Cox (Panelist)

Jim Cox is a Beadel Fellow at Tall Timbers Research Station in north Florida. The early part of his career was spent identifying sites in Florida where habitat conservation efforts were needed to help sustain rare wildlife. The second half of his career has focused on assessing the importance of prescribed fire in maintaining habitat for rare species. Since 2020, Cox has collaborated with biologists across 5 southeastern states in a NOAA-sponsored study investigating the application of prescribed fire in coastal wetlands. Known as the Firebird Project, the work focuses on high marshes and other wetlands important to Mottled Duck, Seaside Sparrow, Yellow Rail, and the imperiled Black Rail.

Jana Mott (Panelist)
Jana Mott has been working for The Nature Conservancy since 2002 in a variety of roles including fire and restoration technician, burn boss, and wetland restoration specialist. In her role as a wetland restoration specialist from 2011-present, she worked with partners to coordinate isolated ephemeral wetland restoration on the Apalachicola National Forest.

Ben Walker (Panelist)

Ben Walker is an Inventory and Monitoring Field Biologist at Glacial Ridge and Rydell National Wildlife Refuges in northwestern Minnesota. In this role, Ben manages Refuge lands while collaborating with other stations and partners on biological monitoring, data and GIS analysis, and regional pilot projects. Throughout his career with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ben has focused on restoring and managing habitats for species of special concern in the Midwest. Recently, he has worked alongside Refuge fire crews to develop large-scale management strategies for prairie-wetland complexes, integrating remote sensors and rapid monitoring techniques to enhance conservation efforts.

Adam Warwick (Panelist)

Adam grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from the University of Tennessee and then obtained a Master’s of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife from the University of Missouri. He then spent 10 years with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in overseeing wildlife management and supporting burning for Tate's Hell State Forest. Adam led the agency’s response to regional human-bear conflicts and a highlight of his career was coauthoring FWC’s Black Bear Management Plan. Adam Warwick has been overseeing The Nature Conservancy’s land stewardship in western North Carolina since 2012. The majority of his time and efforts has been devoted to scaling up prescribed burning on public lands to restore open woodlands to the southern Blue Ridge’s pine and oak ecosystems. To that end, he developed TNC burn program; at the core is an innovative 25-person ‘call-when-needed’ crew which has been modeled across the USA. This crew travels over four states to help partners restore fire to thousands of acres of Appalachian forests including five national forests as well state forests, parks, and wildlife management areas and municipal watersheds. Adam is a NWCG Type 2 Burn Boss, and the NC Prescribed Fire Council recognized Adam as the Prescribed Burner of the Year in 2022. Adam dedicates time to helping deliver science to land managers and anyone interested in conservation. He recently wrote the Fire Manager’s Guide to the Southern Blue Ridge Ecozones and Considerations for Fire and Wildlife in the Southern Blue Ridge to further this effort. Adam has led multiple landscape teams on behalf of the Southern Blue Ridge Fire Learning Network. He has previously led the Bog Learning Network and now cooperates with agency partners to protect bog turtles on TNC preserves. He lives in Mills River, NC with his wife, Joyce, and 13 year old daughter Cameron; two Australian shepherds and two cats. In his spare time, Adam enjoys fishing, hunting, whitewater kayaking, and mountain biking.

Our Panel

List of resources shared during the discussion:

Coming Soon