SCPAC Hosts Prescribed Fire Workshop for UNL Students

Yesterday, Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center hosted a prescribed fire workshop for UNL students studying conservation and grassland management. The workshop was presented in partnership with the Tri-County Prescribed Burn Association, The Nature Conservancy, Central Platte and Lower Platte South NRDs, Pheasants Forever, and the Nebraska Environmental Trust.

“Ninety-eight percent of the work is done before any matches are lit,” said Ed Hubbs, SCPAC Habitat and Private Lands Manager. “We make contingency plans for every shift of the weather, every possible scenario, so everyone involved can be prepared for anything we encounter.”

After a thorough talk on planning, Hubbs and Wyatt Koehler, SCPAC Senior Habitat Coordinator, demonstrated tools and techniques used in the field, including manual tools, PPE, drip torches, and water pumps. Students got to try multiple fire-lighting and fire-fighting tools, including a hand-held tool called a Kestrel that measures wind speed and direction, temperature, and relative humidity. Arguably the most exciting, though, were the drip torches and trucks equipped with water tanks, hoses, and nozzles. 

Prescribed fire is an excellent tool for managing invasive plant species, restoring and maintaining grasslands, improving nutritional value for livestock, and even limiting the spread of wildfires.