Tracking Prescribed Burns Helps Safety and Insurance Access

By Blake Jackson

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), in collaboration with the Missouri Prescribed Fire Council (MPFC), is encouraging landowners and land managers to take an extra step after conducting prescribed burns on private property by using the “Log Your Burn” feature on the MPFC website.

Prescribed fire, also known as controlled burning, is a cost-effective and valuable land management practice.

It helps reduce fuel loads, lowering the risk and intensity of wildfires, while also restoring native vegetation, improving wildlife habitat for species such as wild turkeys and deer, enhancing forage for livestock, supporting tree regeneration, and controlling invasive plants like bush honeysuckle.

“Prescribed burning can be effective in meeting various land management goals in the summer, fall, and winter, but early spring is that time of year when we tend to see the greatest number of smoke columns rising into the air from prescribed burns on private land,” said Wes Buchheit, Missouri Prescribed Fire Coordinating Wildlife Biologist with Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever.

“After the prescribed burn is complete, there is one more quick step that can support the continued and expanded use of prescribed fire Log Your Burn,” Buchheit added.

Through the MPFC website, users can record key details such as the date, location, acreage, and habitat type involved in each burn. The form also asks whether assistance was provided by a prescribed burn association or cooperative, and if any fire spread beyond the intended area.

Each burn should be entered separately, with responsibility falling to either the landowner or the contractor overseeing the burn.

“This information is useful in charting the use of prescribed fire across the state and is key in demonstrating the safe use of this critical land management tool with insurance providers, legislators, and Missourians,” explained Buchheit.

MPFC and its partners are also working to expand access to affordable insurance options for prescribed fire practitioners, addressing a common barrier for contractors.

“Please add this step to your prescribed burning process,” Buchheit added. “Submissions can be made at any time but doing it soon after the burn is best so you don’t forget. It only takes a few minutes, and with your help, we can collectively add supporting information to those smoke columns.”

Photo Credit: gettyimages-isidhe