The Oregon FLN is a regional, interdisciplinary coalition, spanning the dry fire-adapted forests of Oregon. Our network is comprised of Indigenous communities, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, and community interest holders, working to promote a culture of fire stewardship across our landscape.
The target of this fire stewardship is increased forest resilience and adaptation to changing conditions, sustaining the many benefits dry forests provide to human communities, and mitigating the risks (and impacts) of extreme wildfire on people.
Through our partnerships and learning networks we have provided workforce training and capacity-building in ecological burning, on-the-ground implementation increasing local and individual capacity. We have invested in community outreach and messaging to bolster understanding and awareness and build support for prescribed fire treatments in Oregon’s forests. Our work is rooted in scientific evidence, bringing together key interest holders to implement a shared vision for increased pace and scale of dry forest restoration.
Central Oregon Prescribed Fire Training Exchange (COTREX) – An annual two-week prescribed fire training in Bend, Oregon that brings together fire practitioners from all geographies and backgrounds. COTREX is a direct response to the growing need to demonstrate local leadership and innovative solutions towards our common goal of increasing the quality, pace, and scale of fire-adapted ecosystem restoration and support of fire-adapted communities. We have hosted 6 COTREX programs since 2015 (with a 3-year hiatus due to COVID), involving 185 participants from around the country and world, representing governmental, NGO, Tribal, state, local, and university partners. The six years of COTREX led to 446 total training assignments and 7566 acres of forest receiving controlled burning.
TNC’s Sycan Marsh Preserve in Southern Oregon is a unique “living laboratory,” a place where we, The Klamath Tribes, U.S. Forest Service, and a wide range of research partners are intentionally merging western science and indigenous knowledge to guide ecologically-based dry forest restoration and leverage lessons learned across the dry forests of Oregon and throughout the intermountain Western U.S. With FLN support, this site has been a hub of training for prescribed fire practitioners at all levels of experience and from all backgrounds. Additionally, research teams from all over the U.S. have been gathering live-fire data to investigate key questions facing forest and fire ecologists today.
