Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network

Last month, FAC Net had the opportunity to bring together an inspiring group of our members from the Pacific Northwest and Hawai’i for a peer exchange in Ashland, Oregon. A big thanks goes to our hosts with ASHLAND FIRE & RESCUE for welcoming our group to town and helping connect us with partners and efforts working on community wildfire adaptation in the Rogue Valley. We learned how local communities are working to improve preparedness, mitigate risk, and build resilience after the devastating 2020 Almeda Fire; we discussed what it takes to meaningfully engage socially vulnerable residents in community wildfire planning; and we brainstormed how to find and sustain energized community volunteers and leaders. All of our peer learning participants and local presenters and guests showed up with enthusiasm, compassion, authenticity, and vulnerability. It was a special few days of creating and strengthening connections, finding the many commonalities across our collective work, and learning with and from each other. As our lovely colleagues from Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization shared in a recent post on their LinkedIn, “One thought that was confirmed by this exchange is relationships and community is our greatest asset in wildfire preparedness and by creating networks for knowledge sharing, we can truly address and overcome some of the most difficult issues from wildfire.” We couldn’t agree more ❤️🔥

Starting this Thursday! Tune into the first session of our new training series about federal grants management. This session will focus on federal grant programs and regulations and what they mean for communities receiving federal dollars directly or through another grantor. FAC Net and The Watershed Research and Training Center are excited to offer this training thanks to support from the USDA Forest Service through the Community Navigators initiative. The session starts at 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT. Register here: https://bit.ly/3WtQxo0

Happy New Year! We are setting intentions for another year of celebrating the hard work of our members and learning to live better with fire. We're taking a break in the #FireNetworks blog today to gear up for all that's to come in 2025. Many thanks to our readers and followers for your continued engagement with stories from fire adaptation practitioners of all kinds.

"For me, I’ve decided to explicitly center the things I love—food, parties, and people—even though they may not seem like they have a place in fire. It turns out that warmth, connection, and hospitality have a place everywhere, they just require a little extra attention and energy." Today's #FireNetworks blog: UCANR Fire Network Director and WTREX Director Lenya Quinn-Davidson offers another one of her inspiring, uplifting essays on humanity in fire. https://lnkd.in/g29scWhn

Request for Proposals from FAC Net's umbrella organization, The Watershed Research and Training Center: Forestry Technicians Curriculum Developer and Instructor Responses Due by midnight PST January 15, 2025 The Watershed Research and Training Center’s is seeking a qualified consultant to:  (1) Draft a technical training curriculum and  (2) Cooperatively deliver a multi-day, in-person, hands-on training for Forestry Technicians as the lead instructor. (With the assistance of 3-4 additional instructors provided by WRTC, USDA Forest Service, or other partnering organizations) Read more specifics about the project and application details in the RFP linked below! https://lnkd.in/ggDNbuDg

It's inspirational to see the positive outcomes that result from an alignment with people, place, and fire. In today's #FireNetworks blog, staff from the Montana DNRC share about a cross-boundary collaborative effort in southwest Montana to reduce wildfire risk and improve rangeland resiliency in premium sagebrush steppe territory. USDA Forest Service The Nature Conservancy in Montana Bureau of Land Management https://lnkd.in/gQPMw9zj

Start the new year off on the right financial foot! FAC Net and The Watershed Research and Training Center are working with kelley nonprofit consulting to host a four-part series on federal grants management. The series will cover the basics of federal grant programs and regulations with a focus on what smaller, community-based organizations and entities need to know to successfully receive, manage, and do great things with these dollars! This FREE training kicks off Jan. 9th - register here! https://bit.ly/3WtQxo0 This series is made possible thanks to support from the USDA Forest Service Community Navigators initiative.

In today's #FireNetworks blog, staff from the The Watershed Research and Training Center's Fire Program share how to approach thoughtful, trauma-informed, and sustainable community engagement around Prescribed Burn Associations - based on real-life experience conducting outreach in fire-prone areas of Trinity County, CA. https://lnkd.in/gsF5CHVn

This week's #FireNetworks blog is a big one - we are celebrating a DECADE of stories and resources shared on our blog platform! Since its beginning in 2014, we have published over 680 stories. We’ve hosted uplifting and inspiring narratives, interesting thought pieces, resource roundups, and more. This blog exemplifies our core value of letting people speak for themselves, and build community through sharing their experiences. Check out some highlights from each year, 2014 - 2024! https://lnkd.in/g9d6N7uM

For communities who have been awarded federal grants, or who plan to apply for federal funding this year, check out this new training opportunity! FAC Net and The Watershed Research and Training Center are partnering with kelley nonprofit consulting to host a free, four-part series on federal grants management. Learn about the updates to federal grants guidance, strategies for identifying and mitigating risk, important procurement considerations and more! Sessions are Jan. 9th, Jan. 23rd, Feb. 6th and Feb 20th! Register here: https://bit.ly/3WtQxo0 This series is made possible thanks to support from the USDA Forest Service Community Navigators initiative.