Prescribed Fire Outreach in the Southern Great Plains: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

In North America, suppression of natural fire regimes has degraded grassland ecosystems. Land managers have attempted to reverse this by applying prescribed fire, but these efforts has been obfuscated by safety and liability concerns. In this thesis, this issue is addressed through the acquisition of information from stakeholder groups in Texas and Oklahoma. First, phone interviews were conducted with key informants in order to understand how prescribed fire use is promoted or inhibited in Texas and Oklahoma. Second, a mail survey of County Commissioners was conducted to understand attitudes and knowledge levels concerning prescribed fire due to the power of these officials to implement and grant exemption to burn bans. A majority of the interviewees considered range improvement for livestock to be the primary objective for prescribed burning within their area but frequently referred to wildlife benefits as a consideration when burning. Considering the large and growing proportion of landowners in Texas and Oklahoma primarily engaged in wildlife-related recreation, this discrepancy may suggest that these are an underrepresented demographic among prescribed burners, and that prescribed fire educators should tailor programs toward them. Demonstration and personal interaction were the most effective means of education, but were constrained by personnel shortages that Prescribed Burn Associations may help to mitigate. Smoke hazards and to a slightly lesser extent property damage and injury were considered the most serious risks in regards to prescribed burning. A majority of responding County Commissioners reported being comfortable with prescribed fire, believing it to be a safe and beneficial practice. Degree of comfort was most influenced by respondent’s self-reported familiarity with prescribed fire, which was correlated with being invited to a prescribed burn, among other factors. Most invitations that Commissioners received to participate in a burn came from private landowners rather than Natural Resource Agencies. County Commissioners’ primary source of information about prescribed fire were local fire departments and emergency services, which may influence Commissioners to be more conservative with burn ban exemptions. Education and outreach efforts among these groups may help reduce any pressure Commissioners may feel to be stricter about enforcing burn bans.