Landowners and managers, municipalities, the logging and livestock industries, and conservation professionals all increasingly recognize that setting prescribed fires may reduce the devastating effects of wildfire, control invasive brush and weeds, improve livestock range and health, maintain wildlife habitat, control parasites, manage forest lands, remove hazardous fuel in the wildland-urban interface, and create residential buffer zones. In this practical and helpful manual, John R. Weir, who has conducted more than 720 burns in four states, offers a step-by-step guide to the systematic application of burning to meet specific land management needs and goals.

Provides a standard format and checklist to guide the land manager through the important steps for prescribed burning. Describes the kind of information needed to prepare fire prescriptions and burning plans. Identifies the elements of a fire prescription, a burning plan, and a prescribed fire evaluation. A plan written for an actual prescribed burning is included as an appendix.

Prescribed burning is an important tool throughout Southern forests, grasslands, and croplands. The need to control fire became evident to allow forests to regenerate. This manual is intended to help resource managers to plan and execute prescribed burns in Southern forests and grasslands. A new appreciation and interest has developed in recent years for using prescribed fire in grasslands, especially hardwood forests, and on steep mountain slopes. Proper planning and execution of prescribed fires are necessary to reduce detrimental effects, such as the impacts on air and downstream water quality. Check out these related products: Trees at Work: Economic Accounting for Forest Ecosystem Services in the U.S. South can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/trees-work-economic-accounting-forest-ecosystem-services-us-south Soil Survey Manual 2017 is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/soil-survey-manual-march-2017 Quantifying the Role of the National Forest System Lands in Providing Surface Drinking Water Supply for the Southern United States is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/quantifying-role-national-forest-system-lands-providing-surface-drinking-water-supply Fire Management Today print subscription is available here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/fire-management-today Wildland Fire in Ecosystems: Fire and Nonnative Invasive Plants can be found here: https://bookstore.gpo.gov/products/wildland-fire-ecosystems-fire-and-nonnative-invasive-plants

Fire has historically played a role in forests and ranges of the inland Northwest. This guide has been prepared to help managers understand the role of fire and the potential uses of fire and to plan for fire use in managing these lands. Sections deal with these topics, and steps in planning a prescribed burn are outlined. A sample burning situation illustrates the planning and execution of a prescribed burn. References are given to help the reader locate pertinent information.