Up History Federal Policy Fire Budget FireBase Mandates Smoke Mgmt. The prescribed burning assistance that the Service offers to private landowners through the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program may take the form of informal prescribed fire planning and operations advice, or it may consist of designing and funding a prescribed fire project under a voluntary cooperative agreement with the landowner. The exact amount of Service involvement depends on the specific habitat enhancement needed and resources available. The roles and responsibilities of all project partners are identified under the cooperative agreement.
Assistance can take many forms and varies in different regions.
If a site is located near a Service office, the Service will often use its own machinery, equipment, and supplies to complete a restoration project. Service wildland fire management personnel are experienced in prescribed fire planning and implementation, and can be a valuable prescribed burning assistance asset. However, Service wildland fire management personnel and supplies are normally funded from Wildland Fire Management appropriations which Congress restricted to use only on Federal lands. When working on private lands, another funding source needs to be found to replace Wildland Fire Management appropriated funds. In other cases, the project may be put out on bid and a contractor is hired to plan and implement a prescribed fire or implement a prescribed fire plan developed by Service personnel.