Reasons to Attend
• The Backyards and Beyond Conference offers a great opportunity to learn from those who work and live in the wildland/urban interface-
• Network with like-minded professionals-
• Share best practices used in the Wildland/Urban Interface –
• Leave with the knowledge to influence others who work and live in the WUI-
• Over 70 Educational Sessions from seven tracks to choose from –
• Special Thursday Opening General Session
• Special Friday General Assembly Presentation
• Spend time with Firewise Sponsors and Partners
• Earn CEUs (Continuing Education Units)
Sponsors
Geographic information system (GIS) software from ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute) enables public safety personnel to capture and create an integrated picture of information in the form of interactive maps and reports on the desktop, laptop, handheld, or in the emergency vehicle. From deciding where to build new fire stations, to monitoring disasters as they happen in real time, from mapping wildfires tens of thousands of acres in size with GPS equipment and a helicopter, to picking up the pieces after a major earthquake, GIS is making emergency management a faster and more accurate means of helping people cope. Go to www.esri.com for more information about ESRI.
Interactive Training Media (ITM) is an advanced multimedia developer creating training and professional development programs in a continuing education, workplace, or public training forum. The multimedia CD-ROMs and web sites to instructional guides and facilitator-led workshops, ITM supports its programs from content development to implementation to ensure they play a role in the overall success of your organization. Many titles have been approved for continuing education credit. For more information on ITM, our Wildland Fire training series, Forestry Education series and other educational opportunities go to www.itm-info.com.
MOSI, a not-for-profit educational institution, is the largest science center in the southeastern United States, home of Kids in Charge!, the largest children's science center in the nation and the only IMAX &copu;Dome Theater in the state of Florida. MOSI offers more than 450 “minds-on” interactive activities. You won't want to miss this opportunity to view the newest permanent exhibit, "Disasterville"; a 10,000-square-foot dramatic and engaging public exhibition where guests are able to walk through interactive towns and experience the impact of a variety of simulated natural disasters to walk away prepared to take action and minimize the effects of nature’s fury in their lives. To learn more go to www.mosi.org
Be sure to join us at MOSI Wednesday night, November 5. (Click on Conference Events for more information.)
FLASH®, the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. is a non-profit, organization dedicated to promoting disaster safety and property loss mitigation. FLASH was founded in Florida in 1998 as the Florida Alliance for Safe Homes. Today it has grown into one of the most respected disaster preparedness organizations in the nation, with more than 75 partners from government, business, academia and not-for-profit organizations. The organization's mission is to promote life safety, property protection and economic well being by strengthening homes and safeguarding families from natural and man-made disasters. To check out their web site go to www.flash.org.
The Florida Division of Forestry consists of more than 1250 dedicated employees with the mission to protect and manage the forest resources of Florida, ensuring that they are available for future generations. Wildfire prevention and suppression are key components in our efforts to protect homeowners from the threat of damage in a natural, fire dependent environment. We are dedicated to training individuals to meet these goals.
In addition to managing over one million acres of State Forests for multiple public uses including timber, recreation and wildlife habitat, we also provide services to landowners throughout the state with technical information and grant programs. The Florida Division of Forestry’s goal is to provide you with information about programs which are implemented by their Field Operations fire and forest resource staff in 15 field units across the state. To learn more about the Division of Forestry go to www.fl-dof.com.
Established in 1896, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), is an international nonprofit association who serves as the world’s leading advocate of fire prevention and public safety through research, training, and educational efforts. NFPA’s 300 codes and standards influence every building, process, service, design, and installation in the United States, as well as many of those used in other countries. NFPA’s focus on true consensus has helped the association’s code-development process earn accreditation from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). NFPA membership totals more than 79,000 individuals from around the world and more than 80 national trade and professional organizations. To learn more about NFPA go to www.nfpa.org.
Celebrating 20 years, the NFPA Wildland Fire Management Section brings together, for mutual professional and technical benefit, those individuals involved in wildland fire management and related activities. The Section promotes the exchange of information among its members to advance the interests of wildland fire management. To that end, the WFM Section holds meetings, conferences, seminars, and such other forums to encourage professionalism among those responsible for planning, implementing, and operating wildland fire management and other related activities. Participation on technical committees and in the code-development process is strongly encouraged, as is cooperation between the WFM Section, wildland fire agencies of other nations, and federal, state and local fire fighting organizations.
Founded in 1981, Chemco has become a worldwide leader in modification and enhancement technologies
for wood products. Located north of Seattle, WA, Chemco's history is deeply rooted in the manufacturing of fire resistant wood products for exterior construction. The market need for fire resistant building materials in California in the late 1970's and early 1980's, sparked
groundbreaking research in wood enhancement for fire resistant construction. Chemco was one of the early pioneers in fire retardant technologies and became the only producer of fire resistant wood
roofing allowed for sale in California. Under the brand name SaferWood, www.saferwood.com, Chemco offers fire resistant wood roofing, siding, decking and trim.
The Florida Forestry Arson Alert Association is a nonprofit organization formed in early 1986. Created to be a vehicle for supplying information to the public about woods arson, the Association also acquires funds and distributes rewards for information about incidents of this senseless crime. www.fl-dof.com/wildfire/arson_alert.html
CSA International™ specializes in consulting services for federal, state, local and private industry clients in multidisciplinary projects involving planning, science and technology to evaluate and provide solutions to environmental and hazard-related issues. Since 1997, CSA Planning, a division of CSA International, has been offering hazard Mitigation planning, risk assessment, and emergency management services primarily to local and state governments. One of the Planning
Division's major focuses has been to create wildfire resilient communities in Florida. To achieve this result our efforts have included: creating stand-alone wildfire mitigation plans; promoting the integration of wildfire concerns and mitigation solutions into all-hazard local mitigation plans, as well as local comprehensive plans; assisting developers and neighborhoods mitigate wildfire risks, working with organizations such as the Florida Division of Forestry in providing training for local government staff and educating the public; and finding funding for wildfire mitigation planning, implementation, or training. For more information go to www.conshelf.com and visit their Planning Division.
Established in 1905, the Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Forest Servic manages public lands in national forests and grasslands. Gifford Pinchot, the first Chief of the Forest Service, summed up the mission of the Forest Service- "to provide
the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people in the long run." National forests and grasslands encompass 193 million acres of land, which is an area equivalent to the size of Texas.
Stop by the exhibit and meet staff from the Southern Research Station where they conduct research in forestry resource science and technology for forest sustainability and productivity in southern ecosystems. Visit www.fs.fed.us to learn more about the US Forest Service, what they do, and the resources they offer.