We are resending this as there was a glitch in the first broadcast.

Mike Saxton is the Manager of Ecological Restoration and Land Stewardship at Shaw Nature Reserve – a division of the Missouri Botanical Garden – Gray Summit, MO.

Shaw Nature Reserve recently hosted 2 days of fire training put on by Quail Forever/Pheasants Forever for private landowners and partner staff from Missouri State Parks, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. There were members from eight prescribed burn associations present and leadership support from the Missouri Prescribed Fire Council. More than 55 people participated in classroom lessons and live fire exercises. The primary focus of the sessions was preventing and suppressing spot fires. In live fire exercises, class participants worked together to extinguish spot fires in a low-diversity, fescue/broom sedge/Indian grass dominated field.

Missouri is 93% privately held, 3.5% federally held and 3.5% state/local municipality held. As fire is a necessary and beneficial tool to promote and enhance native biodiversity, it is critically important that private landowners have the knowledge, experience and support needed to safely put fire on the ground. All fire practitioners eventually get experience with an escaped fire…usually unplanned! This training allowed participants to experience it in a controlled setting with trained staff, prepped fire breaks and ample suppression on hand.

Hand tools and backpack water units were the primary means of suppression.

While there are private contractors who do good work to get fire on the landscape, there are too few of them out there. That is where PBAs are playing a critically important role. Landowners band together, support one another, share equipment, and provide crew to get more fire accomplished. The net result is creating a culture and community of fire and healthier habitats.

Participants instructed to attack from the black, attack from the back.

The type of hands-on, live fire trainings recently held at Shaw Nature Reserve are not readily available across the state or across the region. Class participants emphasized the value of the training and expressed a strong desire to see more of these available.

After action reviews allowed all participants to ask questions and give feedback.

Instructors demonstrated hand tool use. Participants had the opportunity to use a wide array of hand tools.

Instructors demonstrated wet-lining on closely mowed/blown fire breaks.

Perhaps the big winner of the day was fire broom. I had never used one before and was very happy with how effective it was at extinguishing backing/flanking fires in lower intensity fuels. Much more effective than a leaf rake in short statured grass.

In the minutes preceding this this video, instructors demonstrated how effective a leaf blower can be in suppressing backing fire in heavy grass fuels. Participants asked to see full-on spot fire suppression with just a leaf blower. As the video shows, a leaf blower can, in certain fuel/weather conditions, be effective at holding an escaped fire at bay. A blower might be able to even extinguish a small grass fire. In this mock scenario, a leaf blower bought time before sufficient resources could respond.

Consider hosting live fire trainings in your area. The need is there!

All images credited to Katy Hulsey – Missouri Habitat Partnership Specialist II with Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever