Private forest owners in Pennsylvania view fire as a forest management tool

In this study, researchers surveyed private forest landowners in four states: Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. The survey contained 68 questions and consisted of four sections: questions about land ownership and management objectives; questions to measure knowledge, perceived risk and confidence; questions about desired treatments and controlled fire scenarios; and landowner demographic issues.

Based on interviews with prescribed burn service providers, the researchers reported that the price of controlled burning can vary widely between and within states. . Prices ranged from $20 to $400 per acre and depended on various factors such as acreage burned and resource availability. These values ​​informed the prices included in the study and presented to private landowners. Declining burning costs have played a major role in private landowners' desire to try prescribed burning, Kreye pointed out; however, considerations such as coordination with state agencies, cost-sharing assistance, and access to consultants also positively influenced their views.

Spatial analysis of survey responses revealed a north-south gradient in landowners' opinions of controlled burning in the Mid-Atlantic region, Kreye said, with opinions of the practice more positive in Virginia, l Southernmost state in the study. This result results from the varied histories of prescribed burning use and laws in the states studied, she suggested.

“In Virginia, controlled burning by private landowners as a forest management tool is already well established and has been around for 100 years, and they have trained professionals to accommodate this practice,” she said . “In New York, where controlled burning is not part of the culture, the willingness to use fire on private land appears to be lacking, and state laws do not support it. »

In Pennsylvania, it's a different story, Kreye said, likely due to the increased use of prescribed burns by the state Game Commission and Department of Conservation and Department of Natural Resources forests on public lands over the past decade. And those agencies have widely touted the ecological benefits of controlled fires on the landscape, Kreye said.

This publicity influenced private forest owners, Kreye said, and is likely responsible for changing land managers' and landowners' opinions about the benefits of prescribed burning.

“Pennsylvania is transitioning from a fire exclusion state to a state that wants to live with fire, driven in large part by a shift in cultural values ​​related to the benefits of prescribed burning,” he said. she declared. “But for real change to occur, a workforce and economic base are needed to support controlled burning. For the moment, it is insufficient. But the good news is that a public-private organization called the Pennsylvania Prescribe Fire Council recently launched a training program allowing people to become certified to burn on private land.

Jesse Kreye, assistant research professor of ecosystem science and management, contributed to the research.

The Joint Fire Science Program and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture funded this research.