DEADLINE: IJNR Western Wildfire Institute

Last September, the Biden administration released a highly anticipated report full of policy recommendations designed to improve mitigation, suppression and management of wildland fires in the United States. Now, policymakers, scientists, resource managers and Indigenous stewards of fire-adapted landscapes are exploring how these recommendations can be useful – even as they are overrun by wildfire seasons that start earlier, last longer and cause more damage than ever before.

In Oregon, wildfire has added yet another dimension to the discussion. The Labor Day fires of 2020 burned large swaths of temperate rainforest – the lush, wet landscape that long seemed resistant to major wildfire concerns. Faced with this new reality, Oregon policymakers, foresters, Tribes, scientists and concerned citizens are rethinking how fire is fought, prevented and – in some cases – used to achieve better outcomes, while bigger, hotter fires keep coming.

The Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources is planning a weeklong Institute, May 5-11, 2024, to prepare journalists to cover this intensifying issue with a deeper understanding of its complexities and nuances. We’ll spend time on both sides of the Cascade Mountains in Oregon to learn about:

• The impacts of fire on forest and aquatic ecosystems
• Efforts to map Oregon's wildfire risk and understand development in fire-prone areas
• Public health and smoke exposure
• The financial and social costs of extreme fires and their aftermath
• Firefighter well-being and safety
• Cultural burning on Indigenous lands

We will select up to 15 applicants who represent diversity in geography, outlet, race, gender, experience, and journalistic medium. Priority consideration will be given to journalists of color.

Participation is free.

IJNR covers all program expenses (food, lodging, local travel) during programs.

Deadline: Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Details and application.