Critical efforts to restore fire-dependent ecosystems such as the longleaf pine ecosystem and its many associated species like red-cockaded woodpecker cannot be successful without additional prescribed burning, especially on private lands.
Fire is a critically important agent of renewal in natural ecosystems, but uncontrolled wildfires can pose a substantial risk to people and infrastructure. In recent years, the risks associated with wildfire have captured public attention as large forest fires raged in the west. In the Southeast, there are more acres treated with prescribed fires than any other region and more fire-adapted natural communities than in any other region in the United States. Furthermore, human population growth and the expansion of the urban footprint are also greater in the Southeast than in any other area of the country, and unlike the west, the vast majority of the land base in the Southeast (and especially forested land) is still in private ownership.
According to The National Cohesive Wildland Fire Strategy: Southeastern Regional Action Plan (2013), “addressing the challenge posed by wildland fire in the Southeast is not simply a fire management, fire operations or wildland-urban interface problem – it is much larger and more complex.” Many agencies and organizations in the Southeast have the authority, responsibility and autonomy to develop and implement their own policies. However, long-term success may only be achieved through the unified, collaborative effort of all involved. Addressing the issue will sustain Sentinel Landscapes and advance the SERPPAS interests in working lands, conservation and national defense.
| Title | Author |
|---|---|
| Burning on Private Lands Website | NC State University |
| Introduction to Southeastern Prescribed Fire (online course) | Jennifer Evans/ NC State University |
| Southeast Prescribed Fire Update blog | Jennifer Evans/ NC State University |
| Southeastern Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy | Southeastern Regional Strategy Committee |
| Southern Fire Exchange | Southern Fire Exchange |
| e-FIRE (online prescribed fire course for landowners and others new to burning) | NC State University |
| NCSU Prescribed Fire Information and Resources | NC State University Extension Forestry |
| From Fire Comes Light | NC State University's Department of Forestry & Environmental Resources |
| NC Joint Information Center | NC Joint Information Center |
| Wildfires Near Me | The Wildland Fire Management Research Development & Application Program |
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