GILLESPIE COUNTY SOIL & WATER
CONSERVATION DISTRICT #220
Gillespie County, Texas
Gillespie Chapter of Edwards Plateau Prescribed Burn
Association (GPBA)
Previous
Classes and Training
2008 events
Our annual GPBA membership meeting was held December 5, 2008 at the
Gillespie County Extension building.
Director Stanley Rabke provided a meal of tamales and chili before the
business and training meeting. GPBA directors explained how to run our
slide-in sprayers that were built earlier in the year. After the business
meeting, we divided into 9 groups and worked on burn plans for 2 different
scenarios. Then each group presented their plan.
Allen Ersch (far right) explains about operating the sprayer.
Working on burn plans
We had opportunity for hands-on training while helping with other
members prescribed burns. In addition,
Gillespie Co. SWCD and GPBA sponsored a prescribed
burn school August 25-29, 2008,
taught by Keith Blair of Red Buffalo LLC.
This 5-day class was held in Fredericksburg at the Gillespie County
Extension Building meeting room.
The class is approved by the Texas Prescribed Burn Board
and administered through the Texas Department of Agriculture. Successful course completion earns 9
CEUs. Class covers fire weather, fuel
moisture, topography, fire effects, burn plans, regulations, post-burn
management and the Certified Burn Manager Program.
Keith Blair taught burn schools in Fredericksburg in 2008 and 2006.
2007 events
Our annual membership meeting in December 2007 had a great
turnout. Dr. Charles (Butch) Taylor spoke about the
EPPBA and its goals. During the business meeting, we discussed what equipment
to build and members volunteered to help build 2 slide-in sprayers. (The
sprayers were built in early 2008. They’re stored at Beyer’s Fertilizer &
Feed in Fredericksburg and can be loaned to GPBA members for their prescribed
burns.)
Dr. Charles Taylor
Charles Anderson and Tom Hammer of NRCS
walked GPBA members through completing an NRCS prescribed burn plan.
Kerr Co. Prescribed Burning Chapter
invited GPBA members to attend a meeting/training session at Kerr Wildlife
Management Area (WMA) on July 23, 2007.
About 12 to 14 GPBA members attended. We learned about the Management Area’s
use of prescribed fire, which began in 1979.
You can learn more about their prescribed burning experiences at Kerr WMA: Management Program.
2006 events
The annual membership meeting
was held December 7, 2006.
Keith Blair, of Red Buffalo LLC, presented a brief program about rate
of fire spread. Membership lists were
distributed, along with a call list for notifying authorities about your
planned prescribed burns.
GPBA hosted a Prescribed Burn
School on October 16 to 20, 2006, at the Gillespie Co. Farm Bureau
in Fredericksburg, instructed by Keith Blair, Red Buffalo LLC. Twenty people attended the class. Some of
the topics covered: Fire behavior, Planning a burn, and Field techniques. The group analyzed prescribed burns in the
Mason area.
A burn training class held August 9 and 11, 2006
was taught by Charles Anderson, Allen Ersch, and Tom
Hammer. Members learned why, when, and how to burn
safely.
Tom Hammer explains the burn plan form during
class.
The August 2006 class included a PowerPoint
presentation.
Class in August 2005 included a hands-on
prescribed burn. Lead instructors were Charles Anderson, who was with the
USDA NRCS San Angelo office, and Dr. Butch Taylor, manager of Texas A&M
Experiment Station at Sonora, TX.
Back
to GPBA Main page
Forward
to Planned Prescribed Burns and Training
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to Gillespie
Co. SWCD Home page
The Gillespie County SWCD #220 prohibits
discrimination in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color,
national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and
marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply in all
programs.) "An Equal Opportunity
Employer"
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