Northwest Fire Learning Network site delivers public education and professional collaboration
May 15, 2010
When is a forest fire “good?” Why would exclusion of fire in an ecosystem be “bad?” What is the history of fire in a regional context and where are actions being taken today? These are some of the many questions that the Northwest Fire Learning Network answers via their new web site.
The Oregon Field Office of The Nature Conservancy engaged The Other Firm to design and develop www.firelearningnetwork.org to better inform the public on issues related to fire adapted landscapes, where they are and why these principals are so important. In addition, the site provides peer collaboration tools such as document/file sharing, event management, and map integration to help NWFLN professionals work together more efficiently.
In the United States and many other parts of the world, The U.S. Fire Learning Network (USFLN) is engaging dozens of multi-agency, community-based projects in a process that accelerates the restoration of landscapes that depend on fire to sustain native plants and animals. By restoring this balance, the ecological, economic and social values of the landscapes can be maintained, and the threat of catastrophic wildfire can be reduced.
By fostering innovation and transferring lessons learned to other landscape projects, scientists and decision makers, the U.S. Fire Learning Network accelerates the implementation of ecologically based and culturally acceptable fuels reduction and fire regime restoration strategies at ecologically meaningful scales and in high-priority habitats and landscapes.
"The Other Firm took our concept and molded it into a professional product complete with messaging and innovative functionality,” says Amy Waltz, Fire Ecologist and Project Lead. “Working with The Other Firm was a great creative experience. They went “above and beyond” with flexibility to meet the evolving needs of the project and they’ve provided us with a great site that can grow to present all FLN regional content over time.”