John McCabe, Steve Miller, and Brian Schaffler discussed prescribed fire in urban landscapes.
Steve graduated from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point with a degree in Forest Administration in 1985, and Masters in Ecological Restoration from the University of Florida in 2016. He has since worked for a private forestry consultant, the USDA Forest Service, Texas Forest Service, and Florida Division of Forestry and recently retired as the Chief of the Bureau of Land Resources for the St. Johns River Water Management District. Steve was responsible for directing a multiple use land management program on over 600,000 acres. Most of the lands SJRWMD manages require fire on a 3-5 year interval to sustain them ecologically, so prescribed fire is a major part of his duties. Steve is active in the North Florida Prescribed Fire Council, serving on the steering committee since 1992. Steve’s newest position is with the USDA Forest Service as the Regional Director of Fire and Aviation in Region 9. He served on the 1998 Governors Task Force on Wildland Fire, Florida Forestry Blue Ribbon Commission, the Florida Georgia Fire Summits (I &II) and is a current member of the Florida Forest Council. He has feet firmly planted in both fire camps (suppression and prescribed fire) and is qualified as and ICT2, OSC2 and an RXB1. He is committed to preparing the next generation of land/fire managers, he regularly travels to teach NWCG classes, and is currently serving as an Adjunct Instructor for the University of Florida. Steve and his wife are parents of two adults; one of whom is a second-generation forester and fire manager.
John is Director of the Department of Resource Management at the Forest Preserves of Cook County, one of the nation’s oldest and largest urban conservation districts, which manages 70,000 acres of public open space within the Chicagoland area. John has a degree in Forestry from Michigan Technological University and has been with the Forest Preserves since 1994. He also currently serves as the President of the Illinois Prescribed Fire Council, which advocates for the safe and continued use of prescribed fire across the state. John is the lead instructor at the Morton Arboretum for the Chicago Wilderness Midwest Ecological Prescription Burn Crew Member training program and has coordinated countless immersive “Alternative Spring Break” experiences for students from colleges across the Great Lakes region to learn how to apply fire in an urban environment. In 2024, the Forest Preserves celebrated its 10th year hosting the UWSP Fire Crew. John enjoys the challenge of implementing prescribed fire in the second-most populated county in the United States, and working with the fantastic team that has made Cook County’s fire program a nationally recognized leader in urban fire.
Brian currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving as the Regional Fuels Program Manager for the United States Forest Service, Eastern Region. Prior to his move to the Regional Office, he served as the Forest Fire Management Officer of the Francis Marion & Sumter National Forests in South Carolina, overseeing one of the largest prescribed fire programs in the country. He has over 30 years of fire experience working in a variety of positions for the United States Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Volunteer Fire/Rescue Departments throughout the United States. His passion lies in building prescribed fire programs with a focus on developing strong partnerships.
Michael grew up in Northern California where he enjoyed an active outdoor lifestyle hunting, fishing, camping, and skiing in the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains and coastal redwoods. He enjoyed a 10-year career with Cal Fire serving as a Firefighter and Fire Apparatus Engineer. In 2006, he moved to College Station, Texas where he attended Texas A&M University and earned a B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. After completing his B.S. degree, he attended Stephen F. Austin State University where he earned an M.S. degree in Environmental Science and Ph. D. in Forestry, both with a research focus on understory fuel flammability in forest and rangeland ecosystems. Michael also served as a Wildland Urban Interface Specialist for the Texas A&M Forest Service for 2-years where he was actively engaged with fuels management and prescribed burning. He recently accepted an Assistant Professor of Forest Ecology position at UW-Stevens Point where he leads the fire science program and serves as an adviser for the UWSP Fire Crew.
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Burning in Their Backyards and Having Them Say “Thank You” presentation slides – Steven Miller
Prescribed Burning in Urban Landscapes presentation slides– John McCabe
Rx Fire in the WUI presentation slides – Brian Schaffler
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