In Massachusetts, public agencies are increasingly using prescribed burning in state forests and wildlife management areas, such as the Montague Plains and Muddy Brook wildlife management areas, and Myles Standish State Forest.

Our speakers are experts on these issues and will discuss important questions:

• What is the goal of prescribed burning and where is it happening?

• Does prescribed burning help with wildlife habitat restoration?

• Does prescribed burning help to prevent or mitigate forest fires?

• What is the risk of wildfires in Massachusetts?

Presenters:

David Foster is director emeritus of the Harvard Forest and its Long Term Ecological Research program and currently coordinates Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands and Communities and serves on the editorial board of From the Ground Up.  David’s research and conservation focus began with his PhD studies on fire history and ecology of the Labrador wilderness but has increasingly focused on the role of natural and anthropogenic forces, including fire, that have shaped the New England landscape over past millennia. He is an author most recently of “Meeting of Land and Sea: Nature and the Future of Martha’s Vineyard,” and “Wildlands of New England: Past Present and Future.”

Michael Kellett has worked for 40 years to create national parks, save forests, and protect wildlife. He is co-founder and executive director of RESTORE: The North Woods, a New England-based nonprofit organization. He was the lead author of the paper, “Forest-clearing to create early-successional habitats: Questionable benefits, significant costs.”

Bill Stubblefield has a lifelong passion for natural history and holds a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University. He currently devotes his time to activism on behalf of all lifeforms on Planet Earth.

George Wuerthner is an ecologist and photographer who has visited more than 400 designated wilderness areas and more than 200 National Park System units. For a dozen years, he worked as Ecological Projects Director for Doug Tompkins’s Foundation for Deep Ecology and is now Executive Director of Public Lands Media. He has published 38 books, including “Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy,” “Protecting the Wild: Parks and Wilderness Foundation for Conservation,” and “Keeping the Wild: Against the Domestication of the Earth.

DATE: Saturday, September 12

TIME: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM — Presentations and panel discussion in person and on Zoom. Please register to attend in person.
1:30 PM to 2:30 PM— Walking tour of the Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area

LOCATION:  The National Spiritual Alliance, 2 Montague Avenue, Lake Pleasant, MA 01347

RSVP: [email protected]

REGISTER: Zoom

Please park near the intersection of Old Northfield Road and Lake Pleasant Road if possible.

Light snacks and beverages provided.

SPONSORED BY:

Climate Democracy Project, Community Land and Water Coalition, Concerned Citizens of Franklin County, Northeast Wilderness Trust, Partnership for Policy Integrity, Protect the Montague Plains, RESTORE: The North Woods, Save Massachusetts Forests, Sierra Club Massachusetts, Standing Trees, Wendell State Forest Alliance