Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists

05/26/2026

The 20th anniversary of the Southern Blue Ridge Fire Learning Network was celebrated during this year's annual meeting. We traveled down memory lane to the inception and reflected upon what the vision was then. Keeping the vision alive, we celebrated the strong partnerships and relationships that were in the room, shared success stories and lessons learned, discussed new emerging fire science research, and collectively looked towards the future of the FLN.

05/18/2026

Regeneration in action! Oaks are a fire - adapted keystone species supporting high biodiversity, and serving as a foundational habitat and food source for many wildlife species. Prescribed fire is one of the most effective tools to not only reduce wildfire risk, but to also restore and maintain healthy resilient ecosystems. Low-intensity fire helps the forest enter a new state of health and vibrancy.

05/15/2026

🗓 The Northeast-Midwest Prescribed Fire Science and Management Workshop is July 21-23, 2026!

ℹ This year's event will be another Blended Learning Excursion, following the success last year. This three‑day experience combines the flexibility of virtual learning with the richness of in‑person field opportunities across the Northeast and Midwest.

🔗 July 22, 2026 is the final day to submit a proposal to host a independently hosted field trip. Field trips are asked to showcase the local fire culture and highlight successful strategies for addressing challenges to building wildland fire capacity (e.g. partnerships, innovative strategies, funding, rules and regulations, staffing, etc.). https://form.jotform.com/261307235723149

05/13/2026

CAFMS YouTube channel, Appalachian Fire - CAFMS, offers a comprehensive repository for managing fire-adapted ecosystems in the Appalachian region 🔥

Check out our latest videos from the Duff in the Mountains Fire Science Workshop

Reintroducing fire into long-unburned longleaf pine ecosystems has led to unexpected tree mortality. In many cases, valuable overstory trees, important for w...

05/07/2026

In the 2026 Spring Issue of The Traveller, Dr Charles Lafon, Department of Geography, Texas A&M University, describes William Bartram's travels in the article, "Fire and the Shaping of Vegetation along Bartram’s Route in the Southern Appalachian Mountains". William Bartram's writings provide a greater understanding of prescribed fire and vegetative history in the Southern Blue Ridge.

Article can be found on the CAFMS website homepage:

Connecting fire science and fire managers in the Appalachian Mountains

05/05/2026

Research on Table Mountain Pine:
Kozma Naka, Santosh K. Ojha, Luben D. Dimov. (2026). Impacts of disturbances on Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens) and associated species in forests of the Eastern United States. Forest Ecology and Management, 607 (0378-1127). doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2026.123566

🔗 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112726000642?via%3Dihub

✅ Full article can be found on the CAFMS website:https://www.appalachianfire.org/_files/ugd/696505_9b07e50d46194922ae96f174bffefbc6.pdf

04/30/2026

📣 New article: Michel, J. T., & Evans, J. P. (2026). Vegetative Regeneration Delays but Does Not Prevent Regeneration Debt: Thirty Years of Compositional and Structural Change in Adjacent Appalachian Forest Communities. Forests, 17(5), 520.

ℹhttps://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/17/5/520

✅ Full article can be found on the CAFMS website:https://www.appalachianfire.org/_files/ugd/696505_66b32c5980cc4acba633e16a0e0d3d90.pdf

Eastern deciduous forests are undergoing directional compositional shifts, marked by the progressive replacement of Quercus-dominated canopies with generalists and shade-tolerant taxa. These shifts are increasingly interpreted within a regeneration debt framework, in which canopy composition persist...

04/28/2026

📣 New research: Kozma Naka, Santosh K. Ojha, Luben D. Dimov. (2026). Impacts of disturbances on Table Mountain pine (Pinus pungens) and associated species in forests of the Eastern United States. Forest Ecology and Management, 607 (0378-1127)

ℹ https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2026.123566

✅ Full article can be found on the CAFMS website:https://www.appalachianfire.org/_files/ugd/696505_9b07e50d46194922ae96f174bffefbc6.pdf

04/24/2026

It is said that a smile is universally understood. It conveys and boots happiness and is a gesture of kindness that is contagious. In this line of work, the mornings can begin in the silence of darkness, the days can be long extending well past the setting of the sun, exhaustion and fatigue are present, mental awareness is at max capacity, and the color of ash and dirt colors everything. Yet, through all the things that makes these days challenging, the smiles of your peers serves as a beacon of positive joy. They are infectious, reduce stress, and builds resiliency. A smile is quiet, yet its power reverberates with an astounding impact.

04/22/2026

📣Early bird registration ends on May 13th for the North Georgia Prescribed Fire Council Meeting!

🗓 June 6, 2026

📍Jasper, GA at the Chattahoochee Technical College

Whether you are a private landowner, land manager or practitioner, or just interested in fire, this meeting will be sure to provide valuable insights and knowledge.

🔗 For more information visit:

Georgia Prescribed Fire Council Our Mission: To protect the right, to encourage the use of, and to promote public understanding of prescribed fire. North Georgia Meeting Saturday June 6th, 2026 in Jasper, GATickets and Sponsorship Opportunities Now Open!  North Georgia RSVP LINKSPONSORSHIP LINK Ab...