People have created protected natural areas, national parks and forest reserves because they contain something of value and provide needed products and services. These products and services can be considered conservation “targets”. They may require fire, be sensitive to it, or be able to tolerate only certain types of fire. Because these areas have something of value, and these things or processes are affected by fire, fire management goals need to be set for those targets. Those goals have to be based on both knowledge and inferences about current status, life histories, habitat requirements, sustainable yields, and fire dynamics of the conservation targets within the context of the constantly changing environment in which they occur. Because management actions are based on inferences about the targets, rather than on complete knowledge, those management actions must be monitored. It is feedback from monitored trends that should drive future management actions. This is adaptive management.

For adaptive management to be influential and effective beyond a specific site or conservation area, success stories, lessons learned, and new tools developed in one place need to be disseminated and adapted for use at other sites. Traditional modes of technology transfer such as professional journals, manuals, conferences, training courses and internet sites will continue to be important. Another tool that is proving effective is structured learning networks. The Nature Conservancy, in collaboration with fire agencies and other partners, is using Fire Learning Networks in the U.S. and in the Latin America/Caribbean region to achieve mutual goals related to fire by identifying common needs and barriers to implementation, and by developing and testing strategies that are likely to succeed in different areas. Through synthesis and shared experience, learning networks not only communicate existing knowledge but also create new knowledge as experiences and ideas are adapted to local situations.

Through facilitated workshops, site assessments, mentoring and exchanges, and internet discussion groups and web sites, learning network participants are introduced to the best available science and management options. They are guided through a process that includes:

• Identifying fire-related threats using conceptual ecological models and situation diagrams that illustrate ecological and social relationships affecting, and affected by, fire;
  
• Identifying desired future conditions and fire management goals; and
  
• Designing integrated strategies, i.e. integrated ecological fire management, to reach those conditions.