SWPBA launches at Bier Stein March 31
2 min read
from the Upper Willamette Soil & Water Conservation District, OSU Extension Service, and staff reports
The South Willamette Prescribed Burn Association will be holding a launch event March 31 at The Bier Stein, 1591 Willamette St., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
This event is open to all who are interested in learning more about this new organization and efforts to educate the public about prescribed burning and how you can get involved.
Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs) are community-based networks of individuals and organizations interested in using prescribed burning, primarily on private lands.
PBAs can include a wide range of people: landowners, curious neighbors, natural resource professionals, UO students, agricultural producers, and firefighters. PBAs help the hosting landowner accomplish their burn safely and at low cost by sharing equipment, skills and labor.
They support landowners through all the steps to access technical assistance, acquire permits, and coordinate help from other members. When the weather conditions are appropriate, PBA members join the landowner to conduct the burn on their property.
Each burn is a valuable training opportunity that reduces wildfire risk and increases the health of the land.
PBA members help to monitor the weather, coordinate volunteers, and assemble the necessary equipment. The landowner’s responsibilities depend on their knowledge and abilities, but can include participating in burn planning, preparing the area to be burned, welcoming volunteers on the burn day, leading the burn, and monitoring the area after the burn is completed.
A briefing and training before the burn ensures that everyone is aware of the plan and their role in it. Prescribed burning may seem highly technical, but every burn is a chance to show that with training and cooperation, it is an accessible, safe, and beneficial practice.
To better understand the benefits of prescribed fires and how they are conducted, see
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/fire-program/prescribed-fire-basics and https://fusee.org.
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