The National Interdisciplinary Lookout Conference (NILC) invites abstracts and proposals for its third annual conference.
2027 Theme: Beyond the Smoke
How Fire Lookouts Have Evolved New Purposes
Fire lookouts were originally built for a single purpose: to spot smokes and suppress wildfires. But a structure built to watch for one thing rarely stays confined to that purpose, and over the last century, these structures have become something their builders never quite intended — staging points for backcountry search and rescue, seasonal retreats for writers and artists seeking silence, informal weather and wildlife observation posts, historic landmarks kept alive by volunteers and preservation groups, and, for many who have spent a season in one, something closer to a spiritual practice than a job.
Beyond the Smoke asks what happens when a tool for detection becomes a tool for … something else — when the act of watching, sustained long enough, turns outward into stewardship and inward into something personal or intellectual. This year’s conference invites presentations, panels, and conversations that follow the fire lookout past its original mandate: into rescue and resilience work, into literature and art, into architecture and preservation, into ecology and land management, and into whatever else a life spent watching the landscape entails. We are always interested in presentations that discuss how the fire lookout’s original purpose of detecting fires has endured despite technological advances in GIS and remote sensing; however, we ask that presenters discussing fire watching acknowledge the tension with newer technology and how human staffed observation points have adapted to continue fire watching over the years.
Read the full theme and sub-themes
Who Should Attend?
In the spirit of interdisciplinarity, we welcome submissions and participation from a broad range of disciplines, including:
- Hobbyists/Enthusiasts
- Active or former fire lookouts
- Natural resources professionals and fire managers
- GIS experts
- Humanities scholars
- Architects and civil engineers
Location
The conference will take place on March 20, 2027, at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho.
Idaho is a fitting location for NILC 2027, as it was once home to more active fire lookouts than any other state—and therefore, the world. Our primary aim is to bring together diverse perspectives and disciplines to help shape the future of fire lookout towers, which remain integral to fire management policies in Idaho and across the American West.
Events take place at the University of Idaho, Moscow Campus, The 1912 Center in downtown Moscow, and Hunga Dunga Brewing.
- Campus
- Opening events are in the Vandal Ballroom, which is in the Bruce Pitman Center/Student Union
- Other campus events will be held in our Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC)
- Off campus
Schedule
A full conference schedule will be posted in late-February 2027 once presentation submissions are finalized. In the meantime, see the 2026 program (PDF).
Organizers
- Michael Decker (College of Graduate Studies - University of Idaho)
- Andrea Alberto Dutto (College of Art and Architecture)
Conference Board
- Andrea Alberto Dutto University of Idaho
- Billy Cooter Idaho Fire Lookouts
- Cat House Idaho Fire Lookouts
- Gary Weber Forest Fire Lookout Association
- Michael Decker University of Idaho
- Mike Guerin Forest Fire Lookout Association