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Fire Training Photos |
This week’s Nature Conservancy-sponsored fire course is noteworthy for several reasons. Not only is it the Fire Training Program’s 100th course offering, it is also the first time in almost 20 years that The Nature Conservancy has offered training related to the safe use of helicopters and specialized ignition equipment called “plastic sphere dispensers” to conduct prescribed burns.
The session is being held at Thomasville, Georgia’s historic Greenwood Plantation, which has been managed by the Conservancy since 2002. The plantation contains an exemplary 1,000-acre stand of old-growth longleaf pine that has been managed with prescribed fire for more than 50 years.
The session was organized in response to demand from conservation practitioners across the southeastern United States, where the use of helicopters to ignite prescribed fires is increasingly common. Helicopters are also used in prescribed fire and wildfire operations in other parts of the country.
The increased demand for this type of training is related to the fact that Conservancy programs are burning more than ever before, about 100,000 acres annually versus 30,000-40,000 acres 10 years ago. Working at these larger scales requires new tools and the skills and training to use them.
“Helicopters allow us to burn 1,000 acres an hour, whereas on foot, we can only burn 200 to 300 acres a day,” said Kevin Hiers, the Georgia and Alabama fire program manager for the Conservancy and one of the instructors for the training. “This makes a big difference when we only have a small window of opportunity to burn large landscapes.”
Twenty-six students from federal, state and nonprofit agencies from across the eastern United States are attending the five-day course. Co-sponsors include Aviation Management (an office of the U.S. Department of the Interior) and a number of other state and federal partners. Georgia Forestry Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have each donated the use of a helicopter for the training.
The Initiative’s Fire Training Program reaches more than 400 individuals in an average year, including Conservancy staff and key partners from both inside and outside the U.S. Most courses are attended by a mix of federal, state and local agency staff, private landowners and Conservancy staff. Most of the program’s funding comes from a cooperative agreement the Conservancy entered into with the USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2002.
“Demand for our classes is consistently high because we focus on integrating fire operations and ecological management, and on experience-based training,” said Sam Lindblom, fire training program coordinator for the Global Fire Initiative. “The more fire practitioners we can reach through our courses, the more people we’ll have out on the land making ecologically sound decisions when managing wildfires and prescribed fires.”
About Our Partners
"The partnerships among the federal, state and non-profit agencies have been the key to making this training possible," explained lead training instructor Meg Gallagher, a program specialist with Aviation Management, an office under the National Business Center (NBC) in the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). "With students coming from Massachusetts, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina among other places, we are bringing together a wealth of knowledge and experience from a number of prescribed burn programs, which will make the training a richer experience for all involved."
The Georgia Forestry Commission and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources are providing the use of agency helicopters, and a privately owned helicopter is being furnished through the support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. National Park Service. Additional partners contributing to organizing the training include DOI-NBC Aviation Management, Eglin Air Force Base, the U.S. Forest Service and The Nature Conservancy.
"The interagency cooperation among all of our partners and their contributions of staff support, equipment and financial resources is a testament to the importance of prescribed burning as a land management tool and emphasizes the need for a collaborative approach to achieve our common conservation goal," said Sam Lindblom, national fire training coordinator for The Nature Conservancy
For more information:
- How We Work: Global Fire Initiative
The Global Fire Initiative develops solutions that allow fire to play a role in places where it benefits nature, and keep fire out of places where it is destructive. - How We Work: Fire Training
Having served more than 2,500 students to date across the country, The Nature Conservancy has earned a reputation for its innovative, experiential approach to learning and dynamic, interagency cadre and student bodies. - Press Release: Fire Experts Teach Conservationists How to Set Prescribed Burns from Helicopters
Conservation professionals from throughout the East learned to safely ignite prescribed burns from helicopters at a training organized by The Nature Conservancy’s Global Fire Initiative, in cooperation with numerous state and federal partners. - Archive of our Saves of the Week and Success Stories
Read more about The Nature Conservancy's work to save the last great places on Earth.
