Learning in Community: Tuesday Group Presentations on Wildfires & Wildfire Management

It's certainly been interesting around here lately. Though we are still grieving the loss of our summer plans, we're so thankful for the ways in which the community has shown up. From finding space and lodging for all the fire crews that came to town, forming a Community Response Team, and showing up to community meetings and roundtables, the Ely community is strong.

In a period of crisis, information can be hard to access while ensuring its accuracy. Thankfully, Ely has several information sharing networks, including, What's Up Ely Facebook group, The Ely Echo, WELY, the newly formed Ely Community Response Team, and our favorite, Tuesday Group.

Tuesday Group has been a place of information sharing since 2009. It has always happened over the noon hour and often at the Grand Ely Lodge. Over the years, we've been able to bring in friends and neighbors from around the state and region to educate us on several topics and many of those presentations were recorded for the last 5 years.

Tuesday Group has offered an education on wildfires and wild lands management over the years, as we have brought in several presenters who discussed the Pagami Creek fire, forest fire behavior, FireWise and fuels reduction, and even topics like the work the United Way does in our community and heritage preservation for our museums in town.

We've put together a playlist on YouTube to support your learning on wild fires, or for you to review recommended practices and support for fuels reduction on your property. Though we know these fires are not out and that it will take until snow for them to be over, learning more about our habitat and the ways in which fire is necessary and managed have helped us understand this time.

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Thus, we offer you our suggestions for additional learning from the Tuesday Group archives:

1. Future of the Boreal Forest, 2024

2. Forest Fire Fuels Reduction, 2024

3. In the Face of Fire, 2024

4. United Way, 2025

5. Emergency Response for Heritage Preservation, 2023

6. Pagami Creek Fire, 2022

7. Ecological Impacts of the Pagami Creek Fire, 2022

8. Forest Fire Behavior & Tree Mortality, 2021

9. Pagami Wildfire, Wildland Fire LLC

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We suggest choosing the videos that are of interest to you, in the order that makes the most sense to you. These resources are exactly that, resources. Do not feel as though you have to watch the entire video (though we think you should) but rather take what you need.

Additional resources for information can be found on the Ely Community Response Facebook page or Substack, The Ely Echo Facebook page and paper, and by listening to WELY.

We will continue to have community announcements at Tuesday Group and find speakers who are able to talk to us about this place we love so much. If you have suggestions, we would love to hear them (email info@boundarywatersconnect.org or talk to Jess). If you have other resources to share, we encourage leaving a comment below and we will do our best to share them as well.

This time has been intense, filled with many conflicting emotions, and at times difficult to navigate, but we're so glad to be learning, growing, and working with all of you.