November 8, 2014
 
Exciting times are ahead for The Network as we head into winter. In this issue we'll report on the first annual conference of The Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities, Network Coordinator Elwood Miller and more!

 

The First Network Conference A Success 

Eighty Nevadans from ten counties met in Reno on October 24 to discuss the new organization - The Nevada Network of Fire Adapted Communities or "The Network." Attendees included representatives from Nevada communities; local, state and federal firefighting agencies; wildfire fuel management companies; landscape industry leaders; and others. Northern Nevada Fire Chiefs Association President Stacey Giomi served as moderator and Dr. Elwood Miller was introduced as The Network's coordinator and conference keynote speaker. Keep reading... 

Dead leaves and pine needles are easily ignited by embers during a wildfire. Photo courtesy of Reno Gazette-Journal.

FACt

This is a good time of year to check your rain gutters, decks, flowerbeds and roof for fallen pine needles and leaves. We all know deciduous shrubs and trees lose all their leaves each fall. But some people forget that, despite their name, evergreens shed their leaves or needles as well in the fall, just not all of them each year. For example, our Sierra native evergreen Jeffrey pine drops its three or four year-old needles each fall. The one and two year old needles are retained so the tree is "ever green." Once detached from the living trees and shrubs, dead leaves and needles quickly dry out and can be easily ignited during a wildfire. Once ignited, they can serve as "kindling" to ignite larger fuels such as tree limbs and deck boards. During the November 18, 2011 Caughlin Fire, accumulations of fallen leaves and needles were a significant contributor to fire spread. Get out there and rake up those leaves and needles and remove them from your property. 

 

Partner Spotlight:
University of Nevada
Cooperative Extension

University of Nevada Cooperative Extension is a college within the University of Nevada, Reno that helps carry out the university's outreach mission. In 1999, Cooperative Extension, in partnership with the Sierra Front Wildfire Cooperators, created the Living With Fire Program to help teach Nevadans how to reduce the wildfire threat. The program has steadily grown since then and has received national recognition on several occasions. The Living With Fire website is particularly useful, providing numerous publications, videos, county wildfire hazard rating reports and after-fire interviews with homeowners and firefighters. Cooperative Extension's most recent effort is to provide support to The Network. There is a section devoted to The Network on the Living With Fire website. Living With Fire is coordinated by Sonya Sistare and Ed Smith. For more information about Cooperative Extension and Living With Fire contact Sonya at 775-336-0271 or sistares@unce.unr.edu. For questions regarding The Network, contact Elwood Miller at 775-336-0266.

  

Natalie Enjoyed the Conference!
Check back next month for more helpful tips from Natalie Newcomer.

Funding Opportunities

The Nevada State Grant Office
The Nevada State Grant Office provides a full range of grant support including:  the identification of funding opportunities, grant writing and editing, review of grant materials, developing collaborations, coordinating grant activities with internal and external partners, obtaining and developing data matrices, budget assistance, grant project management as well as technical assistance with grants.gov system or other grant management systems. Learn more here, call 775-684-0222 or visit their website.
What do you think?
We'd like your feedback! What information would you like to know to help reduce the wildfire threat to your community? Reply to this email to share your thoughts.

This newsletter is provided by University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, an EEO/AA institution, with funding from a State Fire Assistance grant from the Nevada Division of Forestry and USDA Forest Service. Additional support is provided by the Bureau of Land Management - Nevada State Office.

In This Issue

Introducing...
Dr. Elwood Miller

Dr. Miller has been a professional forester for over fifty years. He has earned degrees from Northern  Arizona University, Oregon State University and Michigan State University. His career spans timber management and fire suppression positions with the U. S. Forest Service and thirty years as a forestry professor and administrator with the University of Nevada, Reno. Following his retirement from UNR, Dr. Miller was privileged to serve as the Executive Director of the Nevada Fire Safe Council during its formative years and as the Operations Section Leader for the Tahoe Fire and Fuels Team. As the newly appointed coordinator, Dr. Miller is excited to continue his work to help an expanding number of wildland-urban interface communities increase their survivability in the face of a growing threat from wildfire. Read his inspiring keynote address here

 

Contact us to schedule a presentation on how your community can work toward becoming fire adapted!
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University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Living With Fire Program | sistares@unce.unr.edu


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