Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Ray Hinnant, 979-820-1778, ray.hinnant@gmail.com
SONORA – The Academy for Ranch Management will host two rangeland burning schools in February and March at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research station located on State Highway 55 between Sonora and Rocksprings.
A Prescribed Rangeland Burning School will be held Feb. 19-21, according to Ray Hinnant, an AgriLife Research senior research associate in College Station. This workshop will provide an overview of prescribed burning and includes information on the history of fire, weather, planning a burn, fuels and fuel moisture, and equipment.
The Advanced Rangeland Burning School on March 6-8 will build on the previous school, providing more information on fire behavior, fire effects, and planning and conducting a prescribed burn, Hinnant said.
The cost for each event is $395, which will include meals and lodging. In addition, Hinnant said, there will be a $45 facilities-use fee due upon arrival for each school.
The Academy for Ranch Management is a program of AgriLife Research and the Texas A&M University department of ecosystems science and management in College Station. The Sonora facilities provide a teaching laboratory for hands-on experience.
Hinnant and Dr. Charles “Butch” Taylor, superintendent of the research station, are prescribed burning board lead instructors. Other speakers during the two courses include Dr. Mort Kothmann, Texas A&M University department of ecosystems science and management professor, and Nick Garza, an AgriLife Research associate at Sonora.
The Academy for Ranch Management has provided prescribed burn training to more than 200 participants, Hinnant said. Over 150 students have passed the Texas Prescribed Burning Board’s course, which is the educational component to apply for a Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager license.
Also provided is an introductory course in prescribed fire for those interested in prescribed burning as either a volunteer on a burn or to burn on their ranch, he said.
“Our classes are designed to be limited in enrollment so that the participants can ask specific questions about their ranch or land management burning and to have camaraderie with other participants with similar problems and potential solutions,” Hinnant said.
“This course provides the basics of prescribed burning and can be used throughout the state of Texas,” he said. “We have also had volunteer firefighters and landowners and managers in several other states take the prescribed burning classes.”
Successful completion of both courses and a passing grade on the exam will provide the educational component to begin application for a private, commercial, government or not-for-profit certified prescribed burn manager through the Texas Department of Agriculture, Hinnant said.
Persons interested in attending either school should go to www.agrilife.org/arm for a registration form, and mail it and payment to Jeanne Andreski. Hinnant also asked those planning to attend to send him an email at ray.hinnant@gmail.com so he can get them on the list.
For more information, call Hinnant at 979-820-1778.
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