Wildfire-focused extension educators with Oregon State University are assessing the needs of each region as they ramp up the new program.
OSUâs extension fire program is just over a year old. It was started with a $2 million allocation from the state legislature for the 2019-21 biennium. It is mandated to facilitate land-management priorities and increase fire-related knowledge and outreach, the university said.
âOur geographies are so different in Oregon, so the needs will differ,â said Carrie Berger, fire program manager and associate program leader with OSU Forestry & Natural Resources Extension.
OSU will use the regional assessments to inform its fire-education programming, she said. Findings could influence how the extension fire educators provide service in their communities, and even how researchers and stakeholders approach landscape-scale projects.