Fire Policy & Advocacy
Our Expertise
We are an internationally recognized research station with over 60 years of experience using prescribed fire science to solve land management problems. Our unique perspective is rooted in a long-term practice of working cooperatively to conduct research and apply it to over a one million acres through a network of land managers in the Southeast. Our mission is to foster exemplary land stewardship through research, conservation and education.
Addressing the nation’s wildfire problem is a multi-faceted issue. There is a strong consensus that prescribed fire is the only way to actually reshape and restore our forests for reduced wildfire risk and a more resilient future. Tall Timbers can help establish a national approach for prescribed fire that reflects our long-standing success with cooperative applied science, and science informed training and land management.
Our Team
We employ over 140 people working primarily on research and land management with prescribed fire throughout the Southeast. This collective experience of coupling science and land management is want informs and drives our interest in helping shape policy. Below are a few of our highly capable team members.
William Palmer, PhD
PRESIDENT/CEO
Morgan Varner, PhD
SENIOR SCIENTIST
John McGuire, CF
PRIVATE LANDS FIRE INITIATIVE
Neil Fleckenstein, AICP
PLANNING & ADVOCACY
Our Agenda
Based on our core work as a non-profit dedicated to exemplary land stewardship through research, conservation and education, we believe the following three items are critical policy areas for advancing the use of prescribed fire at the national level.
NATIONAL STRATEGY
Helping policymakers to create a national approach for how to increase the pace and scale of prescribed fire use.
TRAINING
Leveraging science & emerging technology to develop training for the federal and private workforces to apply prescribed fire safely.
MARKETPLACE
Creating a viable prescribed fire services market with policy and funding changes in the Farm Bill and other federal programs.
Fire Policy and Advocacy Related Research and Press
To Stop Extreme Wildfires, California is Learning from… Florida?
This reporting by National Public Radio (4-Minute Listen, or Article) explores the importance of supporting private landowners in the use of prescribed fire for public benefit. Hear from Dr. Morgan Varner, Tall Timbers Research Director, and key partners working on prescribed fire in western states.
Tall Timbers on California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force
Dr. Morgan Varner, Tall Timbers Research Director, was appointed to the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force in Summer 2021. His specific group within the Task Force is focused on developing a robust prescribed fire workforce, empowering the private sector, and expanding cultural burning.
Prescribed Fire Science: The Case for a Refined Research Agenda
Tall Timbers researchers and a wide variety of partners provide a blueprint for moving forward with research that increases prescribed fire use in this article for the journal Fire Ecology. This influential work covers the difference between wildfire and prescribed fire research, funding biases, climate change, technology and training needs.
Catastrophe Funds to Increase Pace and Scale of Prescribed Fire
Authors from Tall Timbers with partners from Georgia and California explore policy options for “catastrophe funds” in this peer-reviewed article for the journal Fire. Addressing liability and insurance costs for rare, but damaging, escaped prescribed fires is important for increasing the willingness of fire managers to expand the use of prescribed fire.
QUIC-Fire Provides Foundation for Fire Modeling Use
Working with Los Alamos National Laboratory and the US Forest Service, Tall Timbers helped develop this first-of-its-kind tool that will allow fire managers to explore different options for prescribed burns and fire control to maximize impact while keeping personnel safe. This laptop- capable, real-time fire prediction software won an R&D 100 Award in 2020.
Wildland Fire Leadership Council 2020 Meeting at Tall Timbers
The Wildland Fire Leadership Council (WFLC) was originally established in April 2002 by the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to provide an intergovernmental committee to support the implementation and coordination of Federal Fire Management Policy. The 2020 WFLC meeting was hosted at Tall Timbers headquarters in Tallahassee, Florida..
