Conference: FIRE-NET: Adirondack Fire Futures: a Convergent Wildland Fire Science Symposium

The focus of this project is an interdisciplinary conference that convenes researchers, educators, industry experts, and policymakers to address the emerging potential and risks of wildland fire in the Adirondack Park of New York State. The Adirondack Park is the largest protected natural area in the contiguous U.S., and while the region has experienced large wildfires in the past, it has been less impacted by fires than other parts of the U.S. in recent years. Due to a variety of factors, the region is now facing new threats from fire. This project gives local governments, utilities, and residents a forum to co-design early-warning tools including drone technology, safer power-line practices, and wildfire-ready communities while training the next generation of emergency-response and sustainability professionals. Public-facing workshops, a student poster showcase, and open-access proceedings will turn cutting-edge research into plain-language guidance that stakeholders, journalists, and families can use when they think about environmental risk in the Adirondack Region. By seeding a permanent network across state agencies, campuses, and industry, the symposium aims to safeguard lives, forests, and livelihoods throughout New York and the wider Northeast. Technically, the conference (July 2026, hosted by Clarkson University) will assemble approximately 100 participants to tackle four convergent themes: (1) shifts in Adirondack fire regimes; (2) drone- and sensor-based early detection; (3) power-grid vulnerability and engineering countermeasures; and (4) community preparedness and Indigenous fire stewardship. Activities include keynote lectures, scenario-planning exercises, and preliminary work towards a structured Delphi survey that prioritizes research gaps and management needs. Results will be distilled into peer-reviewed proceedings, a publicly accessible stakeholder map, and an actionable roadmap for wildfire resilience. The symposium will also provide travel support for students and NGO partners, reinforce statewide partnerships with NYS Forest Rangers and regional utilities, and launch a standing Adirondack FIRE-NET working group to coordinate follow-on proposals and field studies. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.