KRIRM Prescribed Burning Lectureship Will Teach Safe Use of Fire as Management Tool

KRIRM Prescribed Burning Lectureship Will Teach Safe Use of Fire as Management Tool

The King Ranch® Institute for Ranch Management (KRIRM) will host the Gus T. Canales Lectureship on Prescribed Burning July 31 through August 3, 2017, in Kingsville, Texas. This lectureship is designed to teach participants the safe use of fire as a rangeland and wildlife habitat management tool.

Lead instructor of the lectureship, Sandra Rideout-Hanzak, Ph.D., explains that all rangeland owners and managers should consider using prescribed burning as a livestock forage and wildlife habitat improvement tool.

“Prescribed burning will increase the quality and digestible portion of forage for both livestock and wildlife, while making it more accessible and palatable as well,” said Rideout, associate professor for the Department of Animal, Rangeland, and Wildlife Sciences at Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Utilizing prescribed burning as a management tool is simply emulating a natural event to which rangeland plants are well adapted, and it is the most cost-effective means to control brush invasion in rangelands, Rideout further explains.

It is not uncommon that land managers know they would like to use prescribed burning, but do not know how to get started. This lectureship will give participants the tools needed to plan a burn and get started using fire on their own property. The course is for all skill levels, not only beginners. Experienced burners will learn about the state laws and gain a greater understanding of how to burn legally and responsibly.

Weather permitting, a hands-on live 500-acre burn will be conducted on August 3rd. “Students will learn how to use the tools, and see how the combination of fuels and weather conditions, plus firing technique, creates the appropriate, manageable fire behavior,” said Rideout.

In addition to Rideout’s instruction, Allen Rasmussen, Ph.D., of Texas A&M-Kingsville, Kirk Feuerbacher of The Nature Conservancy, and Stephen Deiss of NRCS will also teach various subjects during the lectureship. Rideout believes these instructors will contribute to an invaluable learning experience for participants, all three combining decades of teaching prescribed burning courses and burning rangelands in southern Texas and the U.S.

Registration is $500, which includes all workbook materials, equipment, refreshments, and meals. Classroom instruction will be held on the campus of Texas A&M-Kingsville at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Center. The prescribed burn is planned to take place on East Foundation’s El Sauz Ranch in Port Mansfield, Texas. Transportation will be provided by KRIRM. More information about the lectureship—including a detailed agenda, learning objectives, and location information—can be found at krirm.tamuk.edu/lectureships/prescribed-burning, or call the KRIRM office at 361-593-5401.

About KRIRM
Formed in 2003, KRIRM is a ranch management master’s program at Texas A&M-Kingsville created in honor of the 150th Anniversary of the legendary King Ranch. As the only ranch management master’s program in the world, KRIRM teaches graduate students using a multi-disciplinary, systems approach to ranch management, and provides the highest quality lectureships and symposia to stakeholders in the ranching industry. For more information about KRIRM, visit krirm.tamuk.edu.