A coalition of agencies dedicated to working to prevent wildfires in all 82 Mississippi counties is back in operation after being dormant for years.
The Prescribed Fire Council – a group of 11 state, federal, and local agencies – now has a coordinator for the first time in the group’s history. Through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, funding has been made available to The Nature Conservancy to hire Lance Middleton to oversee the council’s operations.
Middleton, a natural resource specialist serving with The Nature Conservancy, is filling the coordinator role and is tasked with bringing together both public and private landowners to learn how to effectively use prescribed fire as a tool to prevent wildfires.
The purpose of the Mississippi Prescribed Fire Council is to educate the public about the many benefits of prescribed fire, increasing the opportunity to put more meaningful prescribed fire on the landscape. A prescribed fire, also referred to as a controlled burn, is a planned and intentionally set fire by land managers under specific weather conditions to manage vegetation, reduce wildfire risk, and restore the health of ecosystems that naturally depend on fire, like grasslands and forests.
“We are excited to have Lance in his new role with the council. The council’s efforts to inform the public about the many benefits of prescribed fire, coordinating/collaborating with prescribed fire practitioners, and advocating for a good, prescribed fire policy are greatly appreciated,” Russell Bozeman with the Mississippi Forestry Commission said. “Mississippi has a long track record of prescribed fire for forest management and wildlife habitat improvement, and we see the need for good fire on the landscape only getting stronger.”
The Mississippi Prescribed Fire Council is made up of the following.
- The Nature Conservancy
- Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks
- Mississippi Forestry Commission
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Mississippi State University Extension Service
- Mississippi Forestry Association
- Mississippi Association of Conservation Districts
- Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission
- Natural Resource Conservation Service
- Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
“As the coordinator of the Prescribed Fire Council, I am going to be providing leadership for the 11 agencies in educating the public through workshops and other tools,” Middleton said. “TNC will be taking a very active role from that standpoint as we do a lot more outreach. The future looks good for the Mississippi Prescribed Fire Council.”
