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Burning Questions: Forest, Fires & People
Over the past several years, there has been an increase in the number and severity of wildfires in Oregon. This trend is expected to continue as the Pacific Northwest become increasingly vulnerable to the effects of a changing climate including, decreased snowpack, higher temperatures and drought, and declining forest health. These environmental changes increase the risk of catastrophic wildfire impacting communities living in the wildland-urban interface. Wildfire was once considered to be a risk only for people living in rural areas; however it is quickly becoming a reality for urban neighborhoods. Recent fires in Corvallis and Portland illustrate the need for rural and urban communities alike to adapt to the changing conditions of their environment in which they live. The 2016 Starker Lecture will address the “new normal” of living with fire, and will offer individuals, neighborhoods, and communities useful information and strategies for living in a changing environment.
Feb 18, 2016, 3:30 pm, La Sells Stewart Center C&E Hall, Fire Ecology, Management, and Policy in the Western US: Challenges But With Great Possibilities, Speaker: Scott Stephens, Professor of Forest Science, UC Berkeley
Coming up...
March 3, 2016, 3:30pm, BEND OREGON, Exposure of Buildings to Wildfire: Vulnerabilities and Mitigation Strategies, Speaker: Steve Quarles, Senior Scientist, Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety
April 7, 2016, 3:30pm, La Sells Stewart Center C&E Hall, Living with Fire, Speaker: Ed Smith, Natural Resource Specialist, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension