See our blog recap of this event with field trip and workshop details, maps, and photos. See agenda below for presentation PDFs.
This workshop focused on learning from managers and scientists about fire and oak issues in the North Atlantic region by answering these questions: how does our region differ from other oak habitats? How is it the same? What is the latest research on the topic and how can it be applied on the ground? What are some manager needs in the oak-fire science world? We addressed all of these questions and more in June in Westborough, MA at the Massachusetts Fish and Wildlife Building. Activities consisted of one full day for our field trip, and a second indoor day with talks and panels.
Agenda Wednesday, June 15, 2016
8:00 Registration, Coffee 8:30 Site Orientation Presentation 8:45 Depart for Crocker Conservation Area 9:30 Arrive Crocker Conservation Area – Red Oak Forest, North County Land Trust, Fitchburg 10:30 Depart for Wachusett Reservoir Boylston, MA 11:05 Arrive Wachusett Reservoir Gate 6 – Mixed Oak Forest, MA DCR Division of Water Supply Protection 12:30 Lunch at Wachusett Reservoir 1:15 Depart for Green Hill Park, City of Worcester 1:30 Green Hill Park – Chestnut Oak Woodland, City of Worcester Parks and Recreation 2:30 Depart for Perkins Farm Conservation Area, City of Worcester 2:45 Perkins Farm Conservation Area - Mixed Oak, Worcester, City of Worcester 3:30 Wrap-up 3:45 Depart for Westborough 4:00 Westborough, end of day
Agenda Thursday, June 16, 2016
8:00 Registration
8:30 Welcome: Bill Patterson III, Ph. D., Professor Emeritus, University of Massachusetts-Amherst 8:55 Oak forests and the Massachusetts landscape
Chris Buelow, Restoration Ecologist, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Presentation PDF)
Caren Caljouw, Habitat Biologist, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
9:40 Break
9:55 Benefits of fire in oak-dominated natural communities
Marc Abrams, Ph. D., Professor of Forest Ecology and Physiology, The Pennsylvania State University School of Forest Resources (Presentation PDF)
Peter Grima, Service Forester, Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (Presentation PDF)
Diane Burbank and Jeff Tilley, USDA Forest Service, Green Mountain and Finger Lakes National Forests
11:45 Lunch
12:40 Challenges for using fire in oak
Joel Carlson, Principal, Northeast Forest and Fire Management, LLC (Presentation PDF)
John Scanlon, Habitat Program Leader, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Presentation PDF)
1:30 Break
1:45 Fire and silviculture tools for securing oak regeneration
Jeff Ward, Ph. D., Chief Scientist, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Department of Forestry and Horticulture (Presentation PDF)
John Neely, USDA Forest Service, White Mountain National Forest (Presentation PDF)
2:45 Break
3:00 Breakouts: Identify the most urgent and salient science questions for oak systems; Guidelines for land managers to use fire as a tool in fire-adapted ecosystems
3:40 Report-out
3:50 Wrap-up & Evaluation
4:00 Adjourn