Upper Grand Prescribed Burn Association Being Formed

Learn the benefits of landowners forming a prescribed burn association when the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and partners host a free informational meeting from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, at the Hundley-Whaley Research Center near Albany. Prescribed burns can play a major role in improving wildlife habitat and livestock forage. A neighborhood or regional burn association can benefit landowners using prescribed burns through the sharing of equipment, labor, and expertise. The meeting will include experts from MDC, the Missouri Prescribed Fire Council, Pheasants Forever, and Quail Forever.

Andi Rittel, MDC private land conservationist, and Mark Howell, Missouri Prescribed Fire Council fire management specialist, will talk about how carefully using fire can be a cost efficient and effective way to manage grassland and savanna vegetation. They will also talk about how a prescribed burn association functions to help property owners. An Upper Grand Prescribed Burn Association currently being organized can be a vehicle to help property owners in northwest Missouri plan and conduct burns. The sharing of training, labor, and equipment through an association can help property owners achieve their goals, such as more productive deer, quail, and turkey habitat. Burns can also help reduce unwanted vegetation such as invasive species or trees like red cedar crowding out forage in pastures.

Landowners are often interested in using prescribed fire as it is the cheapest way to manage vegetation, Rittel said, “but they just don’t have the knowledge and a crew to get it done.” Being a member of a burn association gives them a list of people to call who are willing to help, access to shared equipment, and information about how to carry out a safe and effective prescribed burn.

Attendees will have a chance to join the Upper Grand Prescribed Burn Association. The University of Missouri Extension’s Hundley-Whaley Research Center is at 1109 S. Birch St. on the outskirts of Albany. COVID-19 safety precautions will be observed.

Registration is required for this event. To register, visit https://bit.ly/UpperGrandPBA.

For more information about the meeting or prescribed burn associations, contact Rittel at Andi.Rittel@mdc.mo.gov. Information about prescribed burn associations is available at FAQs (moprescribedfire.org).