Evenings at the Homestead: Florida Needs Fire!

Join us on Tuesday, March 9th for an engaging presentation on fire in Florida's ecosystems by Reed Noss, author of Fire Ecology of Florida and the Southeastern Coastal Plain.

Fire is an ancient ecological and evolutionary process in Florida, extending back tens of millions of years. Many plants, animals, and entire ecosystems are literally fire-dependent. The safest way to maintain the biodiversity of our fire-dependent ecosystems is to manage them in a way that mimics or simulates natural fire regimes. 

Reed Noss is a writer, photographer, lecturer, and consultant in natural history, ecology, and conservation. He was formerly Provost’s Distinguished Research Professor of Biology at the University of Central Florida. He received a B.S. in education from the University of Dayton, an M.S. in ecology from the University of Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology from the University of Florida. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Conservation Biology, Science Editor for Wild Earth magazine, and President of the Society for Conservation Biology. He is an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His recent research topics include disturbance (especially fire) ecology; ecosystem conservation and restoration; road ecology; and vulnerability of species and ecosystems to climate change and sea-level rise. He has more than 340 publications, including eight books. His most recent books are Forgotten Grasslands of the South: Natural History and Conservation (Island Press, 2013) and Fire Ecology of Florida and the Southeastern Coastal Plain (University Press of Florida, 2018). He is currently working slowly on a book on the endangered ecosystems of North America.