N RANCHING
atural Resources
so they usually have a trailer that will have drip torches and suppression equipment like fl appers or shovels.” Russell says 8 to 12 people are typically needed on
a burn, depending on its complexity and the weather conditions. PBAs like to conduct a burn on a weekend to maximize turnout. Members will bring their own UTVs or 4-wheelers, along with slip-in spray units that hold 200 gallons or more. “A lot of times it’s a family event, too,” says Rus-
sell. “The rancher that is hosting or implementing the prescribed burn will have lunch or dinner cooked up, and it turns into a barbecue after the prescribed burn is done.”
Group effort brings greater precautions The participation of the PBA also ensures that greater
precautions have been taken. The details of each burn are outlined in a burn plan and, in the case of a burn supported by the EPPBA, the president of the associa- tion and at least 3 board members have to review the plan before the association will approve it. A county offi cial has to be notifi ed of the time and
location of the planned burn. Burns are not typically conducted during a burn ban or red fl ag conditions.
Even when conditions are favorable for a burn, it
will leave a mosaic of burned and unburned patches, but Russell believes that as long as a burn doesn’t es- cape from its planned dimensions — the “burn unit” — it’s a success. “Even if you don’t achieve your benchmark of 90
percent mortality on your brush, or 90 percent mor- tality on prickly pear, some good still came from that prescribed burn,” she says. “The benefi ts of that fi re may be indirect. They may be below the soil surface and may be benefi ts that you don’t see until 2 to 3 years post-burn. But at some point in that management, it will refl ect that you implemented a prescribed burn, and your rangelands and pastures are more sustain- able in the long run.”
Mechanics of a prescribed fi re vary The mechanics vary from burn to burn. “Every burn
is different,” says John Weir, Natural Resource Ecology and Management research associate at Oklahoma State University. Weir, who teaches courses in prescribed fi re and is president of the Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association, says landowners will often use existing tools like herbicide sprayers to apply water. They will
58 The Cattleman March 2016
thecattlemanmagazine.com
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