Dr. Meunier will explore how frequent low to moderate intensity fires shaped mixed conifer forests in ways we never realized. Discover ways to design silvicultural treatments that can increase forest resilience by examining these historic fire-dependent ecosystems. ​

Kyle Gill will present on the collaborative ecocultural fire restoration and relationship building work on Nagaajiwanaang and the U of MN Cloquet Forestry Center. Fire history research, led by Dr. Evan Larson in 2016 and informed by indigenous knowledge holders and 200+ year-old red pine storykeepers, made it clear that the pre-settlement surface fire regime was abundant, human led, and required cross-cultural collaboration for restoration. Our restoration planning took shape in 2019 and commenced on-the-ground in 2022 across 75 acres. General objectives include putting land acknowledgement into action, relationship building between human communities and humans and the Land, and restoring fire as a community member in fire-dependent ecological communities with red pine canopies. Specific objectives vary from unit to unit depending on the age of the red pine and the structure and composition of the community. He approaches land stewardship from training in forestry and disturbance ecology and has been the CFC forest manager since 2015.