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Abstract
Prescribed fire is used to treat roughly 5 percent (1,500,000 acres) of Florida’s wildland each year. Superimposed on this firemaintained landscape is one of the fastest growing populations in the United States. Much of this population increase is a result of immigration from northern states where ancestral ties with fire have been broken. Many immigrants want to settle along the urban/ wildland interface, exacerbating an already detrimental situation. These new arrivals generally view fire as a destructive force rather than as a biological necessity. They have little tolerance for the temporary inconveniences associated with intentional use of fire and view the practice as archaic. Furthermore, many are retirees who have the time and inclination to become politically active. Recognizing that the public will ultimately decide the future of prescribed burning, agency and private resource managers have joined in a cooperative effort to ensure that prescribed fire continues as a viable resource management option. The three regional prescribed fire councils and the Florida Division of Forestry have taken the lead in a multi-faceted approach to accomplish this objective, including: 1) improving the image and competence of prescribed burners through training and burn-boss certification; 2) educating the public through speaking engagements, newspaper and television coverage of prescribed burns, feature stories, videos, and schoolteacher guides; 3) enacting state legislation, agency rules, and county ordinances; and 4) opening communication with all parties, including prompt and even-handed response to complaints.
Parent Publication
Citation
Wade, Dale; Brenner, James. 1995. Florida’s solution to liability issues. In: Weise, David R.; Martin, Robert E., technical coordinators. The Biswell symposium: fire issues and solutions in urban interface and wildland ecosystems; February 15-17, 1994; Walnut Creek, California. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-158. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; p. 131-138
