New Law Supports Safe Use of Fire For Land Management

Pennsylvanians who care about our parks, forests and wildlife areas have cause to celebrate the recent passage of a new law that will encourage the continued use of well-regulated, controlled burning as an effective habitat and land-management tool in Pennsylvania, according to The Nature Conservancy.

The Prescribed Burning Practices Act, approved unanimously by the House and Senate and signed into law by Gov. Rendell, recognizes the importance of fire in the Pennsylvania landscape and gives land managers the legal support they need to bring fire back to the land – if those managers follow strict guidelines to keep the fires safe.

“Fire is critical to the health of many types of Pennsylvania habitat, including the oak and pine forests and the barrens that grace our mountaintops,” said Nels Johnson, the Pennsylvania Director of Conservation Programs for The Nature Conservancy. “This law will provide guidance and legal protection to land managers who understand the ecology of fire and want to embrace the best practices for managing public and private landscapes.”

The Nature Conservancy, which uses prescribed fire to maintain important habitat on our own lands, applauds the hard work of the General Assembly and the administration, and specifically thanks Rep. Gary Haluska, the prime sponsor of the bill, and the legislative members of the Joint Conservation Committee’s Forestry Task Force for their work on this issue.

Controlled burns have long been used for ecological, forest, wildlife and grassland management purposes. They’re often referred to as “prescribed burns” because they can be a sort of tonic for keeping forests and other habitats healthy. They are carefully planned and executed according to a written set of parameters, or a “prescription." However, the method has been used sparingly in Pennsylvania because of liability issues.

Under Rep. Haluska's legislation --House Bill 262-- in cases where burn managers and burn plans are reviewed and meet standards set by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, criminal and civil liability for people contracting for and performing the prescribed burns will be limited.

Land managers now understand that under the right circumstances, fire is not only acceptable, but is a vital part of the life cycle in many of the Commonwealth’s natural communities. Fire adds nutrients to the soil, lets sunlight into overcrowded forests and controls some insect pests. Low-intensity fire, repeated frequently over the years, can transform a tangled, strangled bunch of trees into a healthy, productive forest.

Perhaps most important to those who live near our forests, regular fire — applied under strict management prescription — reduces the accumulation of dead wood and other debris in the forest. This makes severe wildfires less frequent, saving both property and lives.

But Pennsylvania’s laws have not kept up with this science, and this has hampered the land managers here who want to embrace the best practices for managing public landscapes.

In approving the new law, the General Assembly and Gov. Rendell recognize the investment that Pennsylvanians have made in our natural areas and the potential loss of plant and animal diversity if fire continues to be to be excluded from landscapes that need fire to be healthy and safe.