CREATION, MISSION AND PURPOSE:

The Louisiana Prescribed Fire Council was created by a Concurrent Resolution of the Louisiana Senate in 2006, with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry designated as the parent agency.

The mission of the Council is to foster cooperation among all parties in Louisiana with an interest or stake in prescribed fire used for the management of forests, grasslands and other natural resources and agricultural lands, and to reduce the risk of damage from wildfires.

Red-cockaded Woodpecker, a fire-dependent inhabitant of the piney woods

The Council brings together natural resource professionals, public and private land managers, and others who support the use of prescribed fire into an organization to:

• Actively promote the use of prescribed fire for its many benefits.
• Educate the public about the use and benefits of prescribed fire.
• Address liability concerns in the use of fire.
• Promote the development of professional prescribed fire practitioners.
• Promote the use of prescribed fire for the benefit of natural habitats and wildlife resources.
• Provide a forum for review of prescribed fire practices, regulations, and policies, and provide a means to defend and uphold prescribed burning rights.
• Promote safety, training and research in the art and science of prescribed fire.
• Promote and facilitate an increase in acres burned annually by prescribed fire in Louisiana.