Expanding Fire Management Education for Local Landowners

The Private Lands Prescribed Fire Initiative at Tall Timbers has expanded over the past year, particularly through an increase in staff. This initiative focuses on the Longleaf Legacy Landscape areas in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama, and impacts the broader Coastal Plain region. The initiative includes three main components: implementation, education, and prescribed burn associations, which work together to promote the use of prescribed fire on private lands.

The team, known as the 'burn team,' consists of a Prescribed Fire Outreach Specialist and Training Liaison, Josiah Gullatte, among others. Gullatte's role primarily involves collaborating with staff from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Quail Forever to enhance their understanding of prescribed fire techniques for private lands.

Despite its small size, the team is effective in conducting burns and focuses on the educational aspects of each burn. They aim to use each fire as a learning opportunity for landowners, rather than just measuring success by the number of acres burned.

Dr. Bud Bailey, a client and landowner at Shade Farm in Gadsden County, Florida, commends the team for their expertise and adaptability in managing fire on his property and promoting fire management understanding within his community.

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