MISSOURI
A Victory for Prescribed Burning New legislation removes an outdated barrier The Nature Conservancy has used prescribed fire to rejuvenate lands in Missouri for nearly 40 years, but a gap in state law made it tough for private landowners to do the same. Now, that’s changing. The Prescribed Burning Act sets a negligence standard as it relates to prescribed fire, which helps remove current barriers that individuals and contractors face when obtaining insurance coverage to utilize prescribed burning as a conservation land management tool.
TNC’s first controlled burn was conducted in 1962 at Helen Allison Savanna in Minnesota. © The Nature Conservancy
60 Years of Fire A legacy of putting ‘good fire’ on the ground In 1962, The Nature Conservancy embraced one of the world’s oldest and most powerful ecological tools — fire. Controlled burns had been used by native populations for a millennium or more to support the land, and the Conservancy adopted the practice for many of the same reasons. As we mark the 60th anniversary of our first burn on a preserve in Minnesota, TNC’s fire program has grown to the largest of its kind, covering about 120,000 acres across the U.S. every year. Carefully burned grounds sprout new flowers and shoots, increase biodiversity, and are more resistant to the rise of unnaturally intense wildfires. TNC’s first controlled burn in Missouri took place in 1983, and since then we’ve worked to increase the use of fire on our forest and prairie landscapes across the state. But TNC does more than manage its own lands; we work with multiple agencies and Indigenous peoples around the world through trainings and shared resources to support safe use of fire, promote good policies and restore a way of life. Here’s to another 60 years of putting “good fire” on the ground.
Goodnight-Henry Prairie © Tom Fielden
The change makes it feasible for certified contractors to get insurance, a critical step to encouraging more controlled burns in the state. Missouri was just one of five states without a similar standard. Backed by TNC, bipartisan support for fixing the problem was overwhelming. The bill passed the Senate in a vote of 31-2 and the House in a 150-1 vote. Missouri Governor Mike Parson signed the bill into law in July 2021.
LEARN MORE about TNC’s history with fire at nature.org/whyfire
The Doug Ladd Fire and Stewardship Program TNC’s former director of conservation in Missouri spent decades using and advocating for the power of fire to rejuvenate and protect life in forests and grasslands. The fund keeps that important work going. If you’re interested in supporting TNC’s fire program in Missouri, contact Mona Monteleone at mona.monteleone@tnc.org or call 314-968-1105.
Doug Ladd © The Nature Conservancy
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