NEBC Prescribed Fire Council
Box 3857 V0C 1R0 Fort Nelson, BC, Canada

Good prairie fire!

The post by well respected John Weir prescribed fire ecologist, educator, author and fire manager was not intended for a wide audience but I made sure that it d...id. I posted from Cultural Fire Management to around the 20 external groups and around 10 internal groups and the Facebook reach is now over 25 thousand for this post. This is a record I think on our global prescribed fire network. The post has also brought in many new members to our network so welcome all you new members. Many have seen Johns post as a referendum on PPE but the underlying message is more subtle and profound as it relates to how we think and act toward fire and nature with serious real world implications. If we think of fire and nature as that to be feared, mercilessly exploited or suppressed then we do great harm to ourselves and nature. Some think PPE should be mandated just like seat belts and that would be a mistake. Those that advocate for PPE don't seem to realize that while there is a upside to PPE there is a downside as well. One small example is that in hot climates it can give you heatstroke and interfere with good judgement while under heat stress. There is more but that is not my focus at the moment. This downside to PPE has to do not just with how we experience fire but the whole of nature. If we are raised up playing and working with fire by the time we could walk we understand and have a intimate loving relationship with fire and the land. We see fire not as a enemy to be suppressed but a friend to be loved, yet respected, and this thinking and approach has very important positive consequences for man and nature., As indigenous people rebuild their fire culture they are having a very important impact on modern fire management now and into the future. I love this cultural burning picture its one of my favorites because it exemplifies what I think this is all about. Modern prescribed fire and firefighters should take note and not deride indigenous people as in the past but appreciate the thousands of years of wisdom that is being offered here.

Although prescribed fire cannot prevent wildfires from starting, when combined with grazing, called pyric herbivory, it can change fire behavior. Researchers ex...amined prescribed fire alone and with pyric herbivory on rangelands to determine their effects on rangeland fuels and modeled fire behavior. Across all simulated weather patterns, pyric herbivory reduced fuel loads, flame lengths, and the rate at which the fire spread. These reductions increased the length of time that effective firefighting techniques could be used. For more information, click the link to read the article Recoupling Fire and Grazing Reduces Wildland Fuel Loads on Rangelands by Starns et al. (2019). https://bit.ly/3ca1FzT Photo courtesy of Oklahoma State University

If you’re missing the sunshine and growing plants or you just want to learn to identify common plants of Oklahoma, check out the interactive photo gallery! You can click and drag the images to see the plants from all angles. www.plantidin3d.com

https://www.floridastateparks.org//fueled-fire-seven-anima

Here is a fact sheet on liability and law that might be of interest. http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu//Document-1/NREM-2905web.pdf