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Community Conservation Partner Organizations

Free Training: Managing Fire for Wildlife Habitats

EARLY SUCCESSIONAL HABITATS, with John Isenhour, NCRC
BEES & FIRE—DO THEY MIX?  with Gabriela Garrison, NCRC

Thursday, October 23, 6-8pm
Bonnie B. Davis Environmental and Agriculture Center
1020 US 70 West (across from the DMV), Hillsborough
REGISTER HERE: https://forms.gle/eXEvzkYAhJ6RMY3x6
This training is free of charge

As we move into the fall burn season, let’s learn from the pros how prescribed fire can help us reach our management goals.   There’s a description of topics with bios of our presenters below.  Register here.  

Hope to see you there, Hope Horton, TPBA Chair

John Isenhour of the NC Wildlife Recources Commission (NCRC) will focus on early successional habitats that contain grasses, forbs, and shrubs which provide unique and important habitat for many wildlife.  This rich habitat, once a byproduct of day-to-day life, is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States. Deliberate management activities are required to maintain it in today’s world.  He’ll take a look at various management techniques, including prescribed fire, that we can utilize to enhance early seral stage vegetation to benefit the many species of wildlife that require this habitat type.   

Gabriela Garrison, also with the NCRC, looks at the relationship between bees and fire.  Prescribed fire has been an essential tool for forest restoration in the southeastern United States for decades. Bees are essential components of these ecosystems, but how do bees cope with fire? In this presentation, we will talk about native bee life cycles, how they might be impacted by fire, and glimpse into recent and ongoing research in North Carolina’s fire-managed forests.

John Isenhour currently serves as the Wildlife Habitat Coordinator in the NC Wildlife Commission’s Division of Wildlife Management.   In this position he administers the Wildlife Conservation Land Program which offers a property tax deferment for landowners who agree to enhance their property for our native wildlife species.  Prior to his current position he was a Wildlife Conservation Biologist and Technical Assistance Biologist providing guidance and assistance for private landowners in the piedmont.

Gabriela Garrison is the Eastern Piedmont Habitat Conservation Coordinator for the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. She works with developers, consultants, and government agencies to produce ecologically friendly guidance that minimizes impacts to wildlife and priority habitat in a developing landscape. In 2017, she formed the NC Pollinator Conservation Alliance (NCPCA), a partnership that works to promote pollinator and habitat conservation across the State. For more information on the NCPCA, please visit www.ncpollinatoralliance.org.    

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Calendar Community Conservation Events

Join Our Wildlife and Fire Workshop – July 15, 2025

🔥 Managing Wildlife with Fire

Discover how prescribed fire, different firing techniques, and the timing of burns can support wildlife and help manage healthy ecosystems!

Hosted by NC State Extension
 📍 Location: Bonnie B. Davis Ag Center (Multi-Purpose Room)

1020 US-70

Hillsborough, NC 27278

(Across the street from Hillsborough DMV)

 📅 Date: July 15, 2025
 🕠 Time: 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

Audience: Landowners, relatively new beginners to fire

✅ Agenda (Draft)

6:30 – 6:45 PM | Welcome, Introductions and Resources

  • Welcome by Triangle PBA (Mart, Andy, Hope) and NC State Extension (Sarah and Jenn)
  • Introduce speakers: Kristin Cathey, Jeff Hall, Chris Jordan

6:45-6:50 | Private Lands Assistance

  • Introduction and information on technical guidance, financial opportunities, site visits, other resources.
    • Promote Wildlife Conservation Land Program
    • Field restoration, pollinator habitat

Presenter: Kristin Cathey

6:50 – 7:20 PM | Why Fire Is Good for Wildlife

  • Overview of the role of fire in shaping habitat
  • Benefits for game and nongame species
  • Different firing techniques
  • Restoration vs. maintenance burning
  • Burning for the population, not for the individual

Presenter: Chris Jordan

7:20 – 7:50 PM | Wildlife Diversity and Fire: A Closer Look

  • How a wide diversity of wildlife respond to prescribed fire including: birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates
  • Importance of burn timing, intensity, and frequency

Presenter: Jeff Hall

7:50– 8:15 PM | Panel Discussion: Burn or Not to Burn?

  • Group discussion: tradeoffs in burn timing and wildlife goals
  • Landowners can ask questions they may have

8:15 – 8:30 PM | Evaluation and Informal Networking

  • Quick workshop evaluation (paper or QR code)
  • Time for attendees to connect with speakers and each other
  • Sharing resources- materials table