With over 90 people in attendance, the Prescribed Fire Seminar and Art Exhibit on January 27th was a huge success. The Galena Center for the Arts proved to be a perfect venue for the art exhibit as well as the two-part seminar.

In the first session, Gillian Moore, featured speaker, artist, conservation ecologist, and wildland firefighter, led with a compelling presentation on her experience with prescribed fire in the western states, and here in the Midwest. Steve Barg of JDCF followed with a presentation, including video, of a historic prescribed burn on JDCF’s Portage Preserve last fall. Brad Petersburg of the Woodland Wildlife Cooperative topped off the first session with remarkable drone video of a woodland prescribed burn on his property last spring. You can view the first session HERE.

Hosted by Ken Beach of the Northwest Illinois Forestry Association, the second session featured a panel discussion with experts from the National Wild Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, and the Illinois DNR in addition to Gillian Moore and Steve Barg. After each organization described how and why they promote the use of prescribed fire, the panelists answered a wide range of questions from the audience.  You can view the second session HERE.