Editor’s note: Brigette Coleman-Williams serves as the Director of Marketing and Communications for The Nature Conservancy in Arkansas. This blog covers activities carried out by the South Central Fire Learning Network with support from the national Fire Learning Network.
Nothing excites McRee Anderson, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Fire Restoration Program Director, more than the first call informing him of arrivals at Arkansas’ Clinton National Airport. Attendees have come from around the world to the International Fire Management Exchange he hosts each year in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The 12th International Fire Exchange began with hugs and welcomes Sunday morning, April 21st. “With 16 people from six different countries, this was my largest class which is very exciting,” explains McRee. TNC staff and partners from Zambia, Tanzania, Guatemala, Indonesia, Colombia, and Brazil hit the road quickly the following Monday morning for a week of hands-on experience of best practices for prescribed fire across the Natural state that is Arkansas. Arkansas is a special place to McRee for many reasons, including its availability of various terrains and habitats that are both easily accessible and similar to areas of participants’ home countries.
Participants in the International Exchange and their home staff and partners face many challenges, such as securing proper equipment, and developing their fire management expertise. “Consider communities around Kafue National Park in Zambia where a significant challenge to proper fire management is just securing proper firefighting equipment such as hand tools and water packs.” McRee notes, “Many communities have no funding for basic firefighting equipment.”
McRee continues, “In each of the attendees’ country, wildfires and unmanaged fires are threatening our portfolio of conservation values for nature and people. The staff and partners attending this year’s management exchange learned key concepts and strategies that can be implemented in their respective homelands to address such challenges.”
The International Exchange is also an opportunity for Arkansas TNC staff to learn from participants. The Indigenous People and Local Communities Team works to incorporate lessons learned into future learning workshops throughout their partnerships.
In addition to fire training, attendees learned about the Fire Learning Network (FLN), which has supported partnership and collaboration work in Arkansas since 2002. They also engaged with local partners from agencies including the United State Forest Service (USFS). Together, FLN and USFS work across 222,000 hectares (imagine two Dallas’ plus a little extra) on landscape-scale restoration project to restore and manage the Interior Highlands ecosystem.
The International Exchange concluded a whirlwind week with presentations on participants’ local successes and challenges at home. Invited TNC in Arkansas Trustees and guests were captivated and inspired by their commitment and accomplishments.
The fire community moves forward by learning from each other both within the United States and globally. The International Exchange hosted in Arkansas is not only an important way of supporting beneficial fire abroad, but of connecting fire practitioners to each other to enable support and learning into the future.
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