Prescribed Fire Practicum

The Prescribed Fire Practicum, an experimental class designed to provide students from The University of Montana with technical training, practical applications and theoretical foundations in ecological burning in the Southeastern United States, was initiated in January, 2008. Two instructors,  Carl Seielstad and LLoyd Queen, from the National Center for Landscape Fire Analysis in the College of Forestry and Conservation, led six students to participate in prescribed burning in Georgia. Their work supported longleaf pine restoration on  Nature Conservancy and Georgia State lands. In addition to the prescribed burning, students reviewed literature documenting ecosystem function and evaluated burn plans based on this literature. The students - two graduate students and four undergraduates - all have experience as wildland firefighters and are studying forestry or natural resource management. This course gave them the opportunity to fill fire roles that they might not do in a normal fire assignment. As students rotated through positions and responsibilities, they learned how to put together organizational structures to accomplish their goals. 

The group was hosted by The Nature Conservancy at their Moody Forest Natural Area. Like the surrounding Georgia State lands, Moody is a longleaf pine-blackjack oak forest. In the 1700's, longleaf pine covered as much as 90 million acres in North America; today, less than three percent of that forest remains. The longleaf pine forest hosts the most diverse array of species among forested ecosystems in North America; many of those are threatened or endangered species. Hence, The Nature Conservancy and others are trying to protect and restore the remaining longleaf pine forests across the southeastern U.S.

Fire exposes the mineral soil needed for longleaf pine seed germination. Fire also can stimulate growth in the grass phase seedlings, propelling them into the tree phase. Longleaf pine is fire-resistant, and the natural fire interval is every year to every five to ten years. Most of these natural fires are lightning caused. Fire suppression has altered the natural fire regime so that forest managers now use prescribed fire to clear the understory and remove competing trees. Prescribed fire is a safe application of the natural fire process necessary to perpetuate the longleaf pine forests. Fire-dependent species such as quail, eastern wild turkeys, songbirds and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker also benefit from prescribed burning for ecological objectives.  

View a gallery of photos from the practicum.

Principal Investigators: Carl Seielstad, LLoyd Queen
Students: Ann Hadlow, Jon Holmes, Anna Lahde, Tobin Orient, Tim Wallace, Devin Yost