UM fire analysis center receives formal approval
UM fire analysis center receives formal approval
07 June 2010
published by missoulian.com
USA — The National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis at the University of Montana was approved as an official Montana University System center at the May 28 Board of Regents meeting in Havre.
The approval formally establishes the center to provide research, service, education, training, and technology and application development to help on-the-ground natural resource managers make more effective and safe fire and land management decisions. The center designation gives UM regional stature as a hub of wildland fire research, application development, outreach and education.
In 2001, the Montana congressional delegation saw the need for a university-based fire research program to complement fire research conducted at federal agencies. The National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis was formed as a program in UM’s College of Forestry and Conservation to develop a research relationship between the University and the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station.
Since 2001, the center has built a program of research and education in the areas of remote sensing, geospatial data management and information technology.
In 2008 the National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis entered into a new, long-term partnership with the University of Idaho and the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station. The Wildland Fire Science Partnership provides base funding for the center and positions the center as a significant contributor to national fire research.