On October 17, 2018 the National Extension Wildland Fire Initiative (NEWFI) became the fourth initiative to be endorsed and approved by the 
ANREP Executive Committee.
Wildland fire issues are a pressing concern for ANREP members and the people they serve across the country. A combination of factors, including the exclusion of fire, drought, and more people living near natural areas, have helped create conditions that allow catastrophic wildfires to burn in diverse places. Meanwhile the need for prescribed fire is increasingly being recognized across the nation, not only to prevent these catastrophic wildfires, but to create and maintain healthy ecosystems.
Since Cooperative Extension is tasked with meeting community needs and serves as a trusted resource, Extension can and should play an active role working with landowners and communities on wildland fire issues. There is an urgent and critical need for Extension educators to be willing and able to provide research-based science findings and their meanings to a wide range of Extension audiences.
The new 2018-2022 RREA Strategic Plan also recognizes the need for Extension professionals to engage on wildland fire issues and highlights "wildfire prevention and management" as a critical issue.
Contact: Jennifer Fawcett, Extension Associate
Dept. of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University
jennifer_fawcett@ncsu.edu, 919-515-8288
Interest in using native plants as part of sustainable landscapes is on the rise across the country. In recent years, industry surveys have indicated an increase in consumer interest in native plants in part due to a desire to help the environment by promoting pollinator friendly habitat, implementing climate solutions, or consuming less water. A native plant is one that has evolved over thousands of years in a particular region or ecosystem and supports local food webs.
Extension professionals need resources to help educate landscapers, the nursery industry, and the public about integrating native plants into their landscapes.
The National Extension Native Plant Initiative aspires to provide a space for Extension professionals to connect, share existing resources, and identify new areas of development around native plants in the United States. Our audience is the Extension professional working with native plant stakeholders which include industries such as nurseries, landscapers, and farmers; land groups such as parks and recreation organizations, municipalities, and home-owner associations; natural resource professionals; and the public including landowners and homeowners.
As this group grows and continues to define our organization development, we aspire to the following broad goals:
Contact: Cathryn Pugh, Chair
The National Extension Energy Initiative (NEEI) provides Extension educators professional development opportunities through sharing experiences and information, learning from successes and challenges, and building new partnerships for energy education from all program areas: Agriculture and Natural Resources; Family and Consumer Sciences; 4-H Youth Development; and Community Development.
Chair: David Ripplinger, North Dakota State University
Vice Chair: Tim Prather, University of Tennessee Extension
Past Vice Chair: Patricia Townsend, Washington State University Extension
Initiative Manager: John Ignosh, Virginia Cooperative Extension
Stakeholder Relations Committee Chair: Tim Baye, University of Wisconsin-Extension
Professional Development Committee Chair: Charles Gould, Michigan State University Extension
The vision for the National Extension Energy Initiative was forged at the 2012 Public and Land-Grant University Conference on Energy Challenges: The Next 50 Years. This conference explored energy challenges and identified potential roles and actions for public and Land-Grant universities addressing the nation‘s energy needs. The conference‘s panel on renewable energy concluded that public and land-grant universities should be and will be actively involved in finding energy solutions. The panel found that the renewable energy industry could benefit significantly for increased collaboration with university researchers.
The inaugural National Extension Energy Summit (NEES) took place in Fort Collins, CO from April 29-May 1, 2013 with 68 attendees from 28 states. Colorado State University hosted in collaboration with Montana State University, the University of Wyoming, and the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities. The second National Extension Energy Summit was organized and hosted by Washington State University on April 7-10, 2015 in Seattle Washington, with 97 attendees from 31 states. A primary focus of the 2015 summit was to provide a platform to discuss various frameworks and organizational structures for planning and hosting future Extension Energy Summits, and foster collaborations to enhance Extension energy education programs. After discussing multiple options, conference attendees overwhelmingly voted to collaborate with ANREP to develop an organizational structure as an energy initiative.
The primary objective of the National Extension Energy Initiative is to provide Extension educators professional development opportunities through sharing experiences and information, learning from successes and challenges, and building new partnerships for energy education from all program areas: Agriculture and Natural Resources; Family and Consumer Sciences; 4-H Youth Development; and Community Development.
The primary activity for the National Extension Energy Initiative is to conduct a biennial National Extension Energy Summit to share energy research, programs, and resources among state Extension energy personnel from all program areas. Other activities include building relationships among stakeholders within the energy sector and building capacity of Extension professionals in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
For a complete list of the National Extension Energy Initiative guidelines, click here.
Membership in the National Extension Energy Initiative includes leaders and energy experts from Public and Land Grant Universities, Cooperative Extension Professionals, national laboratories, and government from around the country. The majority of Initiative members belong to the Association of Natural Resources Extension Professionals (ANREP) or other Joint Council of Extension Professionals (JCEP) affiliate associations. If you are interested in learning more about the National Extension Energy Initiative or would like to be included in the Initiative list-serve to be informed on up-coming events and ways to be involved, please contact David Ripplinger.