Fire Ecology, Management, and Technology at the University of Idaho
 
   
   
   
   
 


 
 

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Overview

CNR has long been a leader in fire ecology research and teaching. We are unique for the breadth, depth, and diversity of our >25-year old fire program. In recent decades, intense wildfires have threatened people and their property over larger and larger areas. Yet fire can benefit wildlife habitat, ecosystem sustainability, and forest and rangeland health. Balancing the ecological effects of fire, the need to protect people and their property, and the inevitability of fire is challenging, especially in a rapidly changing world. Our graduates and our scientists are widely recognized for their expertise and influence. Our goal is to have a highly visible program that provides useful, timely and sound scientific input to the fire management issues facing the state, region, and nation.

Research and Management Facts

  • 16 faculty members currently work with more than 25 graduate students on research in fire ecology, management, and technology, including ecological effects, fuels management, fire risk, policy, and fire safety
  • Over $6 million for grants and contracts in last 5 years
  • Funding from USDA Forest Service, USDA NRI Competitive Grants Program, National Park Service, National Science Foundation, USDOI/USDA Joint Fire Sciences Program, NASA, Bureau of Land Management, Boise Cascade Corporation, and many others
  • Active national and international collaboration with other universities (e.g. Univ. of Montana, Univ. of Arizona, Univ. California at Berkeley) and agencies (e.g. Fire Sciences Laboratory, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, National Park Service, etc.)
  • More than 100 refereed journal publications in last 10 years.
  • Our graduates and our faculty are widely recognized for their expertise and influence.
  • Fire is used extensively on the University of Idaho Experimental Forest.

 

Education Facts

  • A new minor in Fire Ecology and Management
  • A 12-credit graduate certificate in Fire Ecology, Management and Technology that can be completed in one semester on campus
  • Courses focused on fire include:

1. FOR 427, Prescribed Burning Laboratory, is one of only two courses of its kind offered at universities in the US. Now in its 26th year, this course requires students to use state-of-the art prediction models and field data they collect in planning, then conducting and evaluating prescribed burns.

2. FOR 526, Fire Ecology, offered online, is one of only two such courses in the US.

3. FOR 426, Fire Ecology and Management, is taken by students from many majors.

4. CORE 101, Fire, Myth and Mankind, is an innovative course for freshmen that meets UI Undergraduate general education requirements.

  • Many CNR courses incorporate fire, including 14 courses for undergraduates and more than 5 courses for graduate students

Vision Statement

Nothing connects and affects people in the West quite like water and fire. Fire and water each run through the landscape and have for thousands of years. Our West today, with all of its geological and biological diversity, was inherited from them. And, today they continue to attract our scientific and our political attention. No two issues attract more contention and controversy.

The University of Idaho acknowledges the important relationship between fire, water, and people and seeks to further study, understand, and celebrate them. We believe an interdisciplinary approach that takes advantage of the many strengths we have throughout the university can help address the challenges that fire and water pose.