The Nature Conservancy of Texas Fire Management Program

Program Narrative

View a slideshow on the program

The mission of the Fire Management Program of The Nature Conservancy of Texas is to use ecologically based fire management to maintain, restore, and protect habitat for rare and endemic plants, animals and communities of Texas.

Currently, eighteen Nature Conservancy Preserves in Texas, which cover 91,208 acres, across seven ecoregions require prescribed fire. An additional four preserves, covering 6,200 acres, require preparedness and response to wildfires. The Nature Conservancy of Texas' fire management personnel also conduct prescribed burns on the U.S. Army's 220,028-acre Fort Hood Military Reservation.

The following abstracts present brief descriptions of the ecoregions in which The Nature Conservancy of Texas implements fire management.

Chihuahuan Desert Ecoregion
Cross Timbers and Southern Tallgrass Prairie Ecoregion
Edwards Plateau Ecoregion
Gulf Coast Prairie & Marshes Ecoregion
West Gulf Costal Plain Ecoregion
Tamaulipan Thornscrub
Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain Ecoregion

Major Project Overview
The Fire Management Program of The Nature Conservancy of Texas prides itself on the high standard of Training and Fitness that are required of every staff member and volunteer who participates in fire management. Firefighter and public safety is always the first priority in the Fire Management Program.

Career development is an essential part of our program. Training for all individuals involved with fire management is available at various levels, as employees and volunteers are trained toward Firefighter Type II, Squad Boss, Crew Boss, Initial Attack Incident Commander, Prescribed Fire Burn Boss II, and Safety Officer positions. Individual development plans are designed for all employees and volunteers by their home unit, and become part of their annual performance objectives.

All personnel who serve in fireline positions complete an Annual Wildland Fire Refresher Course and fitness screening in January of each year. At a minimum, the 8-hour refresher training includes the Ten Standard Fire Orders, the 18 Watch Out Situations, the principles of LCES, and hands on shelter inspection and deployment. The refresher also includes suppression exercises, reviews recent entrapments, deployments & fire shelter inspection, and findings from safety reviews. Firefighters must also have current certifications in CPR and First Aid, as well as completed an ATV Safety Course.

Fitness screening must be administered and passed prior to assigning any person to wildfire or prescribed fire duty. Individuals who have a position with an arduous physical fitness requirement are periodically tested during the fire season to insure that they are retaining the required fitness level of fitness. The Texas Fire Management Program uses the Work Capacity Tests, under the National Wildlife Coordinating Group (NWCG) guidelines, to determine if personnel and volunteers are fit to work.

Volunteer opportunities exist for qualified people who would like to participate in fire management activities for The Nature Conservancy of Texas. If an individual has taken the NWCG Basic Firefighter Training course (S-130/190) and has successfully completed an annual Work Capacity Test, then that person is welcome to contact the Fire Management Program in order to participate in prescribed burning and wildfire suppression within the South-Central Region of The Nature Conservancy. Fireline prep work, administrative duties, and teaching various NWCG courses are also available for those individuals with certain skills. Please contact Larry Belles at the Fire Management Office for further details.