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 Prescribed Burning Schools in February and March at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research-Sonora Station located on State Highway 55 between Sonora and Rocksprings.
A Prescribed Burning School will be held Feb. 20-22, according to Ray Hinnant, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research senior research associate in College Station and a workshop presenter.
This first workshop will provide an overview of prescribed burning and include information on the history of fire, weather, planning a burn, fuels and fuel moisture, and equipment. The cost for this event is $395.
The Advanced Prescribed Burning School on March 6-8 builds on the previous school, providing more information on fire behavior, fire effects, and planning and conducting a prescribed burn, Hinnant said. The fee is $395.
In addition, Hinnant said, there will be a $45 facilities-use fee due upon arrival for each school.
The basic course is a prerequisite for the Advanced Prescribed Burning School, which provides information necessary for those who want more knowledge and experience as a member of a burn crew or for those interested in becoming a burn boss, the individual in charge of a prescribed burn, he said.
Successful completion of both courses and a passing grade on the exam will provide the educational component to begin application for either a private, commercial 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 http://www.ranchmanagement.org/2014.pdf 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.
“These courses offer hands-on experience for ranch owners or managers, as well as new landowners and absentee landowners who may be several generations removed from the ranch and want to reintroduce fire to their landscape,” Hinnant said.
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 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.
For more information, call Hinnant at 979-820-1778.
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