Friday, September 21, 10:00 am-12:00 pm Longview TX Tuesday, September 25, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Pearl MS Wednesday, September 26, 3:15 pm – 5:00 pm, Tifton GA Thursday, September 27, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm, Greenville SC

Focus Group Meetings: Southeast Wildland Fire Management Cohesive Strategy

Texas Forum Details: Where: Homewood Suites by Hilton 205 Texas 63 Spur Longview, TX 75601 When: Friday September 21, 2012 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM CDT =========================== Mississippi Forum Details: Where: Southern Regional Fire Training Center 3139 Highway 468 West Pearl, MS 39208 When: Tuesday September 25, 2012 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM CDT   =========================== Georgia Forum Details: Where: UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center 15 RDC Rd. 2360 Rainwater Road Tifton, GA 31793-5766 When: Wednesday September 26, 2012 from 3:15 PM to 5:00 PM EDT   =========================== South Carolina Forum Details: Where: Greenville County Council Building 301 University Ridge, Suite 2400 Greenville, SC 29601 When: Thursday September 27, 2012 from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM EDT

Greetings,         Several stakeholder sessions are being held in late September to obtain input on how the South might best implement critical components of the National Wildland Fire Management Cohesive Strategy. The Southern Regional Extension Forestry Office, on behalf of a regional steering committee, will facilitate these meetings. Participation from a wide group of potential stakeholders is crucial to the success of the Cohesive Strategy - we hope that you, or someone from your organization, will be able to attend one of the upcoming focus group meetings!       The National Wildland Fire Management Cohesive Strategy (Cohesive Strategy) is a national, multiagency, collaborative approach to addressing wildland fire across all lands and jurisdictions. Objectives of the Strategy include reducing risk from wildfire, and creating resilient landscapes and fire-adapted communities.   You can also participate in the meeting online via conference call and view the presentations on the webinar. To join the conference call dial 1-866-675-7534, and enter the passcode of 874608#. To log onto the webinar, please go to    http://go.ncsu.edu/fire.  Please contact Rachel Smith with any questions or comments about the upcoming Focus Group meetings. Rachel can be reached at 404.347.2034 or RachelCSmith@fs.fed.us. For questions or topics that will be discussed in the Focus Groups, please see the websites listed for each site. For more information on the Cohesive Strategy, please visit: http://sites.nemac.org/southeastcohesivefire/. An Executive Overview can be found at:  http://sref.info/Members/NWFMSCOverview.pdf Sincerely, Bill Hubbard Southern Regional Extension Forestry whubbard@sref.info 706-340-5070 Dates and locations are as follows:   Friday, September 21, 10:00 am-12:00 pm Longview TX – Homewood Suites by Hilton.  To RSVP for this meeting, or for directions, please go to http://tinyurl.com/texas-fire-forum. You can also participate in the meeting online via conference call and view the presentations on the webinar. To join the conference call dial 1-866-675-7534, and enter the passcode of 874608#. To log onto the webinar, please go to http://go.ncsu.edu/fire.   Tuesday, September 25, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Pearl MS – Southern Regional Fire Training Center.  To RSVP for this meeting, or for directions, please go to http://tinyurl.com/mississippi-fire-forum.  You can also participate in the meeting online via conference call and view the presentations on the webinar. To join the conference call dial 1-866-675-7534, and enter the passcode of 874608#. To log onto the webinar, please go to http://go.ncsu.edu/fire.   Wednesday, September 26, 3:15 pm – 5:00 pm, Tifton GA – Tifton Campus Conference Center - In conjunction with the Georgia Prescribed Fire Council.  To RSVP for this meeting, or for directions, please go to http://tinyurl.com/georgia-fire-forum. You can also participate in the meeting online via conference call and view the presentations on the webinar. To join the conference call dial 1-866-675-7534, and enter the passcode of 874608#. To log onto the webinar, please go tohttp://go.ncsu.edu/fire.   Thursday, September 27, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm, Greenville SC –Greenville County Council Building To RSVP for this meeting, or for directions, please go to http://tinyurl.com/southcarolina-fire-forum. You can also participate in the meeting online via conference call and view the presentations on the webinar. To join the conference call dial 1-866-675-7534, and enter the passcode of 874608#. To log onto the webinar, please go to http://go.ncsu.edu/fire.