United States Department of Agriculture 338-CPS-1

NRCS, NHCP

October 2020

NRCS reviews and periodically updates conservation practice standards. To obtain the current 

version of this standard, contact your Natural Resources Conservation Service State office or 

visit the Field Office Technical Guide online by going to the NRCS website at 

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/ and type FOTG in the search field. 

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Natural Resources Conservation Service 

CONSERVATION PRACTICE STANDARD 

PRESCRIBED BURNING 

CODE 338 

(ac)

DEFINITION 

Planned fire applied to a predetermined area. 

PURPOSE 

Use this practice to accomplish one or more of the following purposes: 

• Manage undesirable vegetation to improve plant community structure and composition 

• Manage pests, pathogens, and diseases to reduce plant pressure 

• Reduce wildfire hazards from biomass accumulation 

• Improve terrestrial habitat for wildlife and invertebrates 

• Improve plant and seed production, quantity, and/or quality 

• Facilitate distribution of grazing and browsing animals to improve forage-animal balance 

• Improve and maintain habitat for soil organisms and enhance soil health 

CONDITIONS WHERE PRACTICE APPLIES 

This practice applies on all lands as appropriate. 

CRITERIA 

General Criteria Applicable to All Purposes 

All prescribed burn plans and applications shall address the following items: 

• Location and description of the burn area 

• Preburn vegetation cover 

• Resource management objectives 

• Required weather conditions for prescribed burn 

• Notification checklist 

• Preburn preparation 

• Equipment checklist, personnel assignments, and needs/safety requirements 

• Firing sequence 

• Ignition method 

• Basic smoke management practices to minimize smoke impacts 

• Approval signatures 

• Postburn evaluation criteria 
Additional Criteria for Prescribed Burn Planning 

• The procedure, equipment, weather conditions, and the number of trained personnel shall be

adequate to accomplish the intended purposes. 

• Inventory the location of utilities, such as electric power lines and natural gas pipelines, to prevent

damage to the utility and to avoid personal injury and human and vehicular traffic that may be

impeded by heat or smoke. 

• Monitor weather parameters, smoke dispersion, and other conditions that will affect fire behavior

during the burn. 

• Use information in “Basic Smoke Management Practices” (O’Neill et al., 2011) for planning and

mitigating smoke impacts. Be aware of your state’s smoke management program and utilize the

specific tools your state has implemented to address smoke. Be mindful of the potential air quality

impacts that burning might have on downwind communities. 

• Timing of burning will correspond with desired soil and site conditions to maintain site productivity

and minimize effects on soil health. 

• Control points; existing barriers such as lakes, streams, wetlands, roads, and constructed

firebreaks; and areas devoid of fuel are important to the design and layout of this practice. 

• Notify adjoining landowners, local fire departments, and public health and safety officials as

appropriate within the airshed prior to burning. 

CONSIDERATIONS 

Consider integration of NRCS Conservation Practice Standards (CPSs) Firebreak (Code 394) or Fuel

Break (Code 383) into land preparation prior to the prescribed burn. Utilize NRCS CPS Prescribed

Grazing (Code 528) to manage fuel loads prior to the burn and grazing use of vegetation postburn. 

Consider using prescribed burning as a pathway for restoring ecological sites to reference or other states

referred to in the ecological site description(s) and state and transition models for the area. Consider

wildlife and pollinator needs such as nesting, brood rearing, feeding, and cover when applying prescribed

burns. 

Consider cultural resources and inventory any sites found within the burn unit and design the burn to

avoid any possible damage. 

Consider minimizing carbon release by the timing and intensity of the burn. 

Consider utilizing prescribed burning to prepare sites for planting or enhancing seed and seedling

production. 

Consider using prescribed burning to remove slash and debris. 

Integrate safety and health precautions into the timing, location, and expected intensity of the burn. 

PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS 

Qualified individuals will complete a written prescribed burn plan with specifications for each site using

approved burn plan templates, specification sheets, implementation requirements, and technical notes, in

support of the conservation plan. Ensure landowner or operating manager has obtained all necessary

State, local, and Tribal permits prior to implementation of the burn plan. 

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE 

Operation 

During the implementation of this practice, the variability of inherent site factors (e.g., topography, fuels,

and weather conditions) on fire behavior, as well as heat and smoke impacts on people, vehicles, and

property, must be accounted for and monitored, as appropriate. 

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Prescribed burning activities shall follow the direction of the burn boss (ultimate decision-maker) and

designated personnel in accordance with the approved burn plan and NRCS policy. The prescribed burn

plan, and the actions contained in the burn plan as carried out at the direction of the burn boss and

designated personnel, will reduce risk to life and public safety and provide protection of values at risk for

prescribed fire participants as well as adjacent and local values at risk. 

Appropriate levels of trained and equipped personnel are essential for the successful and safe

implementation of prescribed fires in all scenarios and land uses. 

Requirements for burn weather, necessary resource staffing, and equipment availability correspond to

expected fire behavior. The burn boss can override these requirements—in writing at the time of burn—if

conditions warrant such action. 

A test fire should be ignited prior to all burns to monitor fire behavior, fire effects, consumption, and smoke

dispersal. 

To effectively minimize postfire escapes, suppression and mop-up must be completed that ensures no fire,

embers, or other ignition sources will escape beyond the designated burn area. 

Maintenance 

All fires will be monitored and evaluated postfire to determine that predetermined burn objectives and

metrics were met based on the identified resource concern. This may include but is not limited to

targeted— 

• Density, structure, and composition of native plant communities. 

• Plant productivity and health. 

• Reduction of plant pest populations and nonnative plants. 

• Reduction in hazardous fuels. 

• Improvements in wildlife habitat elements. 

All postfire monitoring will be used to inform prescriptions for future burn plans to ensure safe, efficient,

and effective application of prescribed fire to achieve resource concern objectives across all scenarios and

land uses. Employ NRCS CPS Prescribed Grazing (Code 528) to maintain overall objectives of the burn

and manage vegetation for livestock. Consider maintaining firebreaks using NRCS CPS Firebreak (Code

394) for followup burns and wildfire protection. 

REFERENCES 

Hardy, C.C., R.D. Ottmar, J.L. Peterson, J.E. Core, P. Seamon. 2001. Smoke Management Guide for

Prescribed and Wildland Fire. PMS 420-2. NFES 1279. Boise ID: National Wildfire Coordination Group.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/5388

Fuhlendorf, S.D., R.F. Limb., D.M. Engle, and R.F. Miller. 2011. Assessment of Prescribed Fire as a

Conservation Practice. Conservation Benefits of Rangeland Practices Assessment, Recommendations,

and Knowledge Gaps 2:75-104. 

O’Neill, S., P. Lahm., and A. Mathews. 2011. Basic Smoke Management Practices. U.S. Forest Service

and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Report. Washington, D.C.

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/PA_NRCSConsumption/download?cid=stelprdb1046311&ext=pdf 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1998. Interim Air Quality Policy on Wildland and Prescribed Fires.

Research Triangle Park, NC. 

Weir, J.R. 2009. Conducting Prescribed Fires, a Comprehensive Manual. College Station, TX: Texas A&M

University Press. 

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Wright, H.A. and A.W. Bailey. 1982. Fire Ecology: United States and Southern Canada. New York, NY:

Wiley and Sons. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2016. Treatment of Data Influenced by Exceptional Events, Table 3

Summary of Basic Smoke Management Practices, Benefit Achieved with the BSMP, and When It is

Applied. 81 FR 68216. Washington, D.C. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/FR-2016-10-03/2016-22983

USDA NRCS and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2012. Agricultural Air Quality Conservation

Measures: Reference Guide for Cropping Systems and General Land Management. Washington, D.C.

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-06/documents/agaqconsmeasures.pdf

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