Prescribed Fire Programming Experiences, Needs, and Challenges of Southeastern United States Extension Professionals
Prescribed fire aids land management, but Extension professionals in the southeastern U.S. face institutional, audience, and experience‑based challenges in delivering fire outreach. Interviews show these barriers can be overcome, enabling Extension to support fire science education and build cooperative networks that strengthen prescribed‑fire capacity.
Subject Tags
- Fire management
- Forest
- Social Sciences
Abstract
Prescribed fires are used to manage natural areas and mitigate potentially intense and catastrophic wildfires. Education and other outreach activities can increase the acceptance and adoption of prescribed fire use among private landowners. Land grant university-based Extension services are often a trusted source of information in communities on a variety of topics, but no published research has previously assessed Extension’s capacity for prescribed fire education and training. This study uses semi-structured interviews to explore the knowledge and experiences of 23 southeastern U.S. Extension professionals with prescribed fire outreach. Thematic analysis of the interviews guided by Ostrom’s social-ecological systems framework revealed that these Extension professionals face a variety of challenges stemming from their institutions, audiences, and own backgrounds that complicate prescribed fire outreach. These challenges can be overcome, allowing Extension professionals to conduct fire science outreach and play an active role in facilitating networks to build capacity through cooperation.
Citation
Miller, H.M., Williams, R.J., Fawcett, J.E., Godwin, D.R., Kays, L., Lashley, M.A. and Crandall, R.M., 2025. Prescribed Fire Programming Experiences, Needs, and Challenges of Southeastern United States Extension Professionals. Society & Natural Resources, 38(1), pp.1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2024.2401169
TNC Authors
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Laurel Kays
Fire Learning Network Assistant Director, Southern U.S.
The Nature Conservancy
Email: laurel.kays@tnc.org