Rise up for a national day of solar awareness. This is a national event, with chapters all over the United States! The closest local chapter is at Smith Vocational in Northampton, from 1:00-4:00. Read more at sunday.earth/events

“This is going to be an uplifting event where our community can come together, learn from one another and be inspired to take action for public wildlands.”

"Forest Fires in Massachusetts: Myths and Reality."

Date: Saturday October 4, 2025

Time: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm — Presentations and panel discussion. In person and on zoom 

Where: The Gallery Room at Plimoth Patuxet
Cost: No charge

Optional: 1:00 pm-3:00 pm — In-person reception. Lunch and time with our speakers and panelists.

Cost: $35.00 per person

Subject and background:

Wildfires in the Western United States and Canada are more and more prominent in the news. There is also growing interest in the role of wildfires and intentional first (controlled burning) in New England. 

In Massachusetts, public agencies are increasingly using controlled burning in state forests and wildlife management areas, such as the Montague Plains and Muddy Brook wildlife management areas, and Myles Standish State Forest. 

Our speakers are experts on these issues and will discuss important questions:

• What is the goal of controlled burning and where is it happening? 

• Does controlled burning help with wildlife habitat restoration?

• Does controlled burning help to prevent forest fires?

• What is the history of the use of fire on the landscape by Indigenous people?

• What is the risk of wildfires in Massachusetts?

Presenters:

David Foster is director emeritus of the Harvard Forest and its Long Term Ecological Research program and currently coordinates Wildlands, Woodlands, Farmlands and Communities and serves on the editorial board of From the Ground Up.  David’s research and conservation focus began with his PhD studies on fire history and ecology of the Labrador wilderness but has increasingly focused on the role of natural and anthropogenic forces, including fire, that have shaped the New England landscape over past millennia. He is an author most recently of “Meeting of Land and Sea: Nature and the Future of Martha’s Vineyard,” and “Wildlands of New England: Past Present and Future.” 

Michael Kellett worked for 40 years to create national parks, save forests, and protect wildlife. He is co-founder and executive director of RESTORE: The North Woods, a New England-based nonprofit organization. He was the lead author of the paper, "Forest-clearing to create early-successional habitats: Questionable benefits, significant costs." 

Bill Stubblefield has a lifelong passion for natural history and holds a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University. He currently devotes his time to activism on behalf of all lifeforms on Planet Earth.

George Wuerthner is an ecologist and photographer who has visited more than 400 designated wilderness areas and more than 200 National Park System units. For a dozen years, he worked as Ecological Projects Director for Doug Tompkins’s Foundation for Deep Ecology and is now Executive Director of Public Lands Media. He has published 38 books, including “Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy,” “Protecting the Wild: Parks and Wilderness Foundation for Conservation,” and “Keeping the Wild: Against the Domestication of the Earth.”

Save the Date — Conference, Oct. 4, Plymouth: "Forest Fires in Massachusetts: Myths and Reality"

Please save the date! 

Regards,

Meg Sheehan, Community Land and Water Coalition

Michael Kellett, Executive Director, RESTORE: The North Woods

Janet Sinclair, Save Massachusetts Forests

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