The Lake States Fire Science Consortium (LSFSC) is committed to ensuring that the best available science informs planning and management for fire-dependent ecosystems of the northern Lake States region. The LSFSC assists in identifying and filling knowledge gaps so that science informs practice, and vice-versa. Unfortunately, for many local to regional fire management issues, few resources exist to bring managers and scientists together to solve these important issues. To enhance the opportunities for managers and scientists to work together, and to expose future professionals to opportunities for research-management collaborations, the LSFSC funds student research internships that address regional fire science and management issues. Internship projects are developed by joint manager-scientist teams. The LSFSC has funded 15 internships between 2013-2019, supporting ten new partnerships between fire researchers and fire managers, and five continuing projects. Topics included fire history, culturally-important species, birds, seedbanks, invertebrates, and overall ecosystem restoration. Projects focused on dry northern forests, hemiboreal forests, pine forests and barrens, and “brushland” ecosystems. These projects have advanced partnerships and knowledge that will not only help improve management of fire-dependent ecosystems locally, but also provide training in communicating across researcher and manager communities to the next generation of wildland fire professionals.

Additional Contributors: Jack McGowan-Stinski, Eric Toman, Charles Goebel, David Hix, Dan Kashian, Randy Kolka, Brian Palik, Brian Sturtevant