Yakima Valley College, in collaboration with the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy, will continue its 2022 Winter Talk Series with a presentation on building community and landscape resilience to wildfires this March. The series explores current issues related to the Yakima Valley region’s environment and ecosystems and features guest lecturers who are subject matter experts in a variety of disciplines. Admission is free and open to the community.
Panel Talk: Better Living with Fire: Building Community and Landscape Resilience to
Wildfire
Tuesday, March 1, 2022 • 7:00pm • Register for talk
Presenters:
- Ryan Anderson, Executive Director of the Washington Resource Conservation and Development Council
- Reese Lolley, Board Member with Washington Prescribed Fire Council, and former Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Forest Restoration and Fire program
- Kara Karboski, Fire, Landscapes, and Community Coordinator with Washington Resource Conservation & Development Council
Wildfire increasingly impacts our lives in the Yakima Valley and central Washington. While fire has always been a part of the ecosystem in this part of the world, there are increasingly smoky summers, increasing impacts from burn severity, and increased pressure to change how we manage forest, fires and communities in the face of a changing climate. While we cannot and should not eliminate fire from our land, we can work to have better fire outcomes. The panel will provide an overview of “how we got here” and what are the federal, state and local strategies for better living with fire.
Anderson is the executive director of the Washington Resource Conservation and Development Council, where he works to promote a sustainable rural lifestyle. He serves as executive coordinator developing a statewide learning network of communities that are successfully taking action to minimize risk related to wildland fire.
For more information: 509.574.4869.