Workshop Coordinators: Lenya Quinn-Davidson, University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network; Josh Smith, Watershed Research and Training Center; Will Harling, Mid Klamath Watershed Council

 

In recent decades, it has become increasingly clear that the West suffers simultaneously from too much fire and not enough. Fire exclusion has created vulnerable landscapes, far departed from the fire regimes through which they evolved. Losses are multifaceted: unprecedented high-severity fire is causing widespread habitat loss, while other systems wither in the absence of needed fire. Meanwhile, fire suppression activities pose a different set of threats, adding insult to injury for aquatic habitats and species. However, the two disciplines remain mostly siloed, with few opportunities to find shared value or to innovate together in management and policy efforts.

 

Over the last three years, we have hosted Fish & Fire workshops at each SRF conference. These workshops have met with increasing interest and momentum, focusing on the many intersections–ecological, cultural, and spatial–across fish and fire. This workshop will continue to build on that understanding, further exploring cross-disciplinary connections, identifying management implications and research needs, daylighting potential synergies in policy and action, and furthering the potential for beneficial fire to be incorporated into restoration efforts.