The Illinois Prescribed Fire Council Registration Package for A Symposium on Fire Its History and Future Role in Shaping Ecosystems Thursday and Friday, May 7 th and 8 th, 2009 At The Field Museum Chicago, Illinois Keynote Speaker: Dr. Stephen J. Pyne Professor, Human Dimensions Faculty, School of Life Sciences Arizona State University Author of more than 20 books, including Fire in America, and Fire: A Brief History; and Year of the Fires. Dr. Pyne will be giving two presentations: On Thursday night, May 7 th, open to the public: The Long Burn: A History of Humanity, Fire and Earth Dr. Pyne presents a look at earth s fire history and how people have interacted with fire to make the world we know today and what that ancient alliance suggests for the future. On Friday, May 8 th, keynote speaker at the Symposium: The Saga Continues: America s Great Cultural Revolution on Fire and Its Aftermath Dr. Pyne examines the last 50 years of reformation in fire policy and practice; what has been accomplished, and what has not; how we think about fire and how we might change those understandings. The overview will include a survey of contemporary issues and end with some forecasts for the future. Stephen J. Pyne is a professor in the Human Dimensions Faculty, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University. Dr. Pyne began his fire career as a smokechaser at the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, and eventually spent 18 seasons with the National Park Service. At Arizona State University, he teaches courses on fire, the history of exploration, environmental history, and nonfiction writing. He is the author of over 20 books, including fire histories of America, Canada, Australia, Europe (including Russia), and the earth overall. He is currently working on a new project: a fire history of Mexico. Il. Prescribed Fire Council Registration Form 1
Schedule of Events Thursday, May 7 th 10:00 am-1:00 pm Field trips See pages 3-5 for options. 6:00 pm Mixer in The Field Museum s West Lobby, enter via West Door 6:45 pm Welcome to The Field Museum in James Simpson Theater 7:00 pm Dr. Stephen Pyne Introduced by Dr. Brian Anderson, Chief of the Illinois Natural History Survey The Long Burn: A History of Humanity, Fire and Earth 8:30 to 9:30 pm Book signing and coffee Friday, May 8 th 9:00 am Field Museum West Lobby: coffee and rolls 9:20 am Welcome--Jim Anderson, President of the Illinois Prescribed Fire Council introduces Dr. Stephen Pyne The Saga Continues: America s Great Cultural Revolution on Fire, and Its Aftermath. 10:30 am Break with coffee 11:00 am Illinois Prescribed Fire Act Randy Heidorn, Illinois Nature Preserves Commission 11:15 am Illinois Smoke Management Plan--IEPA 11:30 am Illinois Fire Service Institute Training Partnerships --Brian Brauer, Assistant Director Noon Boxed lunch available in West Lobby Annual meeting of the Illinois Fire Council--open to all, in Classroom B. 1:00 pm Reconvene in James Simpson Theater Beach Fire Department--Paul Tierney, Fire Chief 1:25 pm Fire Compacts--Jody Shimp, IDNR 1:50 pm Fire and Insects--Dr. Ron Panzer, NEIU 2:30 pm Fire History of the Kankakee Sands Savannas--Cody Considine, TNC 3:00 pm Closing remarks--jim Anderson, President of the Illinois Prescribed Fire Council Following the closing, please explore the Museum. General Admission courtesy of The Field Museum. Initial Sponsors: The Field Museum & The Nature Conservancy-Illinois. Il. Prescribed Fire Council Registration Form 2
Field Trip Options: Transportation to site on your own. Thursday, May 7 th 10:00 am to 1:00pm Trip No. Destination Trip Leader Description 1. Indian Boundary Prairies Dr. Ron Panzer One of the finest examples of Chicago Karl Gnaedinger Lake Plain prairie. 2. Kankakee Sands Savanna Rob Littiken Over 4000-acres of the finest sand savanna in the Midwest. 3. Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie Pete To and Jennifer Durkin America s first National Tallgrass Prairie-over 19,000-acres of grassland 4. Nachusa Grasslands Bill Kleiman, Cody Considine and Volunteers restoration. Nachusa Grassland fire effects. 5. Bartel Grasslands John McCabe Bartel Grassland fire effects tour 6. Pleasant Valley Conservation Area McHenry Co. Conservation District John Peters and Chris Zeiner Replicating pre-settlement fire on a landscape scale. 7. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Noel Pavlovic Over 15,000 acres of dunes, oak savannas, swamps, bogs, marshes, prairies, rivers and forests on the shores of Lake Michigan. LUNCH IS ON YOUR OWN Trip Number 1: Indian Boundary Prairies The Nature Conservancy, Northeastern IL University, and the Natural Land Institute In the city of Markham, Cook County, IL, located 20 miles south of the Chicago Loop. Public transportation on the Rock Island Line is available. Further information is available upon request. Directions: From I-57 heading east you will cross 2 stoplights (the 2nd being Kedzie). After the 2nd you will turn north (left) on Whipple Street. It has a left turn lane. There is a McDonald s on the NE corner and a Popeye s Fried Chicken on the NW corner of Whipple and 159th. Whipple lies to the north, and the entrance to the Canterbury Shopping Center lies to the South. From I-294 you will pass through 1 stoplight and then turn north (right) on Whipple Avenue. In both cases, you will turn north between McDonald s and Popeye s. Go north on Whipple Ave. until it dead ends in gravel parking lot. Bathrooms are in fast food emporiums for the cost of a drink. Group leaders are Dr. Ron Panzer, Manager (Northeastern IL University), Karl Gnaedinger, Project Manager (TNC), and Stuart Goldman, Restoration Ecologist, Rx Burn Boss (TNC). Walking tour around Markham Prairie Complex. Dress for the weather and hiking. Il. Prescribed Fire Council Registration Form 3
Trip Number 2: Kankakee Sands Savanna The Nature Conservancy 1-½ hours south of Chicago. Meeting at Casey s gas station in St. Anne, IL. From Chicago take I-57 South 45 miles to IL Hwy-17. Go east 6 miles to IL State Rt 1. Go south on Route 1, seven miles to St. Anne, IL. We will be car pooling from the Casey s gas station in St. Anne. Group leader is Rob Littiken, Project Manager and Cody Considine, Ecologist The Nature Conservancy. We will discuss fire history of the area and hike several black oak savanna preserves that have a regular fire interval over the past 150 years. Dress for the weather and hiking off trail, or let us know of your mobility needs ahead of time. Trip Number 3: Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie USDA Forest Service 1-½ hours southwest of downtown Chicago. Take I-55 south toward St. Louis. Travel south past Interstate 80 to Exit 241 (Wilmington Exit). This exit is about 2 miles south of the Des Plaines River and right before the Kankakee River. Exit and turn left (east) on River Road. Take River Road until it runs into Illinois Route 53. Turn left (north) on Route 53 and travel about 1-½ miles to the Midewin headquarters on the right. Meet at the office/visitors center. Group leaders are Pete To, Fire Management Officer and Jennifer Durkin, Botanist. We ll examine and discuss some of the Midewin burn equipment along with the challenges of burning in a rapidly developing area with industry and petrochemical plants as neighbors. We ll drive to and explore several prairie/wetland which are burned on a regular basis. Topics to be covered are: prescribed fire objectives, smoke management, prescribed burn planning, prescribed burning execution, etc. Dress for the weather and be prepared to hike off trails. Trip Number 4: Nachusa Grasslands The Nature Conservancy Two hours due west of Chicago. Meet at the preserve headquarters barn. 8772 S. Lowden Rd., Franklin Grove, IL 60131. Map and directions at: www.nachusagrasslands.org. Group leaders are Bill Kleiman, Project Director and Nachusa Volunteer Stewards.We will hike around several units that have been recently burned to discuss fire ecology, burn unit design, birds calling, and plants blooming. Dress for the weather and hiking off trail, or let us know of your mobility needs ahead of time. Il. Prescribed Fire Council Registration Form 4
Trip Number 5: Bartel Grassland Forest Preserve District of Cook County Bartel Grassland, I-57 south to Vollmer Road, west to first stoplight, Central Avenue, north one mile to Flossmoor Rd., west 50 yards to parking lot. Excellent public transportation from the Randolph St. electric Metra station to the Flossmoor station is available. RSVP required so you can be picked up and returned to the station. Those who feel up to it can hike over from the station in about forty-five minutes. Group leaders are John Elliott, Education Manager Forest Preserve District Cook County and Dick Riner, Bartel Grassland Site Steward. We will hike the 3.5-mile perimeter trail to view and discuss past burns and fire ecology. Past restoration and the latest 800-acre expansion project to create wetlands will be reviewed. Birders will not be disappointed, a wide variety of species to be seen!! Trip Number 6: Pleasant Valley Conservation Area McHenry County Conservation District One hour northwest of Chicago. Meet at the Pleasant Valley Conservation Area main parking lot shelter. 13315 Pleasant Valley Rd. Woodstock, Illinois 60098. Map and directions at www.mccdisrtict.org. Group leaders are John Peters, Restoration Ecologist, Chris Zeiner, Restoration Technician. Hike includes tour of restored oak savanna/woodlands and a large mosaic of prairie wetland complexes which are shaped and maintained by fire. We will discuss replicating pre-settlement fire ecology on today s landscape, fire behavior, fuel loading and fire characteristics. We will walk through recently burned areas that was an intense ground fire in the slash from a brush clearing project. Its effect on the oak savanna was unexpected and extremely informative and may be indicative of the effects of pre-settlement fires had on the landscape. Dress for the weather and hiking off trail, or let us know of your mobility needs ahead of time. Trip Number 7: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore USGS/NPS 1-½ hours southeast of Chicago. Meet at the Paul H. Douglas Center in Miller Woods. Directions can be found at http://www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit/deec.htm. We will meet at 9 am in the large parking lot on the east (right side) of Lake Street opposite the Douglas Center. Group leaders are Noel B. Pavlovic, Ecologist with USGS, who has spent 26 years working in the dunes, Stacey Leicht-Young, Ecologist with USGS, and Neal Mulconrey, Prescribed Fire Technician with the National Park Service. We will visit Miller Woods, West Beach, and Lupine Lane to examine fire suppression and fire prescription effects on the black oak savannas. Topics will include fire effects on structure, ground layer vegetation, exotic plant invasion, fire ecology, flora and fauna, and whatever piques our interest. Dress for the weather; we will mostly hike on trail with short excursions off trail. Bring a lunch; which we will eat at West Beach picnic area. Il. Prescribed Fire Council Registration Form 5
REGISTRATION FORM Google: Illinois Fire Service Institute and click on the Illinois Fire Council Link Or http://www.fsi.uiuc.edu/content/outreach/fire%20council/ Please type or print. Name: Address: Phone: Fax: E-mail: Registration fee: $ 53.00 We will contact you by email to confirm payment. We are unable to accept credit cards. Please make checks payable to: Illinois Prescribed Fire Council Please mail registration form and check no later than April 7th, 2009 to: Lauren Gunzel The Nature Conservancy 8 S. Michigan Suite 900 Chicago, Illinois, 60603 If you have any questions, you can contact Lauren at 312-580-2357 or illinois_events@tnc.org Choose two (2) Field trips from the listing on the preceding pages. Write in the name and trip number. We will try to accommodate everyone s first choice, but in case a trip does not fill up, we reserve the right to drop an undersubscribed trip. First Choice: Field Trip Name Trip No. Second Choice: Field Trip Name Trip No. Please check here for vegetarian lunch on May 8th A block of 30 rooms are being held until April 7 th, 2009 at the Essex Hotel, 800 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago for the conference. Please dial the hotel staff direct at (312) 542-5115 to reserve a room. The conference rate is $149.00 per single/$159.00 per double, and $10 per additional person in a double room. This rate does not include parking. The Essex has just been remodeled, and it is a short walk via sidewalk to The Field Museum. A cab ride from the Essex to the Museum is $5-6-dollars. For those driving and not staying overnight, parking is available on the Museum campus in the Soldier Field Garage very near The Field Museum for $18.00/day. Il. Prescribed Fire Council Registration Form 6