The Private Lands Prescribed Fire Initiative at Tall Timbers has grown rapidly over the past year, with the addition of many new staff members who are looking to make an impact not only in the Longleaf Legacy Landscape areas of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama but throughout the Coastal Plain.
I am one of these new hires and head up the implementation team, one of the Initiative’s three major arms. The others are education and prescribed burn associations. Each section enhances one another’s work to sustain and expand prescribed fire use on private lands.
We’ve already assisted with prescribed fire training or burns in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, New York, Maryland and Texas with many more states on the horizon.
The current implementation team, sometimes referred to as the “burn team,” consists of two full time members, me and Josiah Gullatte, the Prescribed Fire Outreach Specialist and Training Liaison.
One of Josiah’s focuses is outreach with Natural Resources Conservation Service and Quail Forever staff so they better understand prescribed fire and the process of putting fire on private lands.
Through this process, we hope these agents become more familiar with the serious on-the-ground work and knowledge that private landowners are responsible for before they can apply fire to their lands.
Having just two members doesn’t stop the implementation team from getting burns accomplished.
My philosophy at Tall Timbers is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to assist on a prescribed fire if they want to so that they may expand their expertise and understanding of the practice.
Steve Wasp and Josiah Gullate. Wasp, left, heads up the Private Lands Prescribed Fire Initiative’s implementation team. Gullate is the Prescribed Fire Outreach Specialist and Training Liaison.
While the number of acres burned is an easy metric to see, it does not always correlate with impact. The implementation team is not only looking to burn those acres but also turn every backing fire into a teachable moment.
If I leave a fire without having fully explained the how and why to the landowner there, I would not consider that a successful burn. This may take time away from putting more fire on the ground, but it is worth it. Empowering people with the knowledge that they are capable of shaping the world for the better with a drip torch is the long view.
“My experience with the burn team has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Dr. Bud Bailey, an implementation team client and one of several partners who owns and manages Shade Farm in Gadsden County, Florida. “They’re very knowledgeable about fire, professional, and adaptable to your land situation. They are a great way to spread the culture of fire, one burn at a time.”
Josiah and I are the boots on the ground, but between site visits, landowner education, and consultation with these same community members, we are hoping to work ourselves out of a job.
For us, the dream is to no longer be needed, as landowners have the resources, experience, community, and confidence to assess and manage the ecosystem needs on their property themselves.
If you are interested in returning fire to your land for ecosystem benefits and reduced wildfire risk, consider contacting the Tall Timbers Private Lands Prescribed Fire Initiative to learn about training, prescribed burn associations, or maybe a visit with the implementation team.
