PRESCRIBED FIRE

Prescribed Fire

Established in 2017, the objective of the Blackfoot Prescribed Fire Work Group is to support and increase the use of prescribed fire as a land management, maintenance, and restoration tool across public and private lands in the Blackfoot watershed.

Prescribed fire on private property conducted spring of 2020.

The group is composed of and directed by a diversity of interested parties including private landowners, public land managers, university researchers, volunteer fire departments and nonprofit organizations. Meetings are well-attended and provide a forum to discuss topics such as liability and risk, policy, fire effects, and developing efficiencies in resource sharing and cross-boundary planning.

The group seeks to capitalize on the strength of existing partnerships in the Blackfoot and ultimately put more prescribed fire on the ground to restore wildfire resilience, increase fuel treatment effectiveness and community safety, enhance ecological benefits in fire-prone forests, and improve wildlife habitat. Members have also been tracking similar efforts in Missoula County and interest across the state in advancing state-wide policy supporting prescribed fire.

To learn more or become a member of the Blackfoot Prescribed Fire Work Group, contact our Forestry Coordinator Cindy Super.