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8-2-2011

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GILLESPIE COUNTY SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT #220

Gillespie County, Texas

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Gillespie Chapter of Edwards Plateau Prescribed Burn Association  (GBA)

History

The Gillespie Chapter of Edwards Plateau Prescribed Burn Association (GPBA) was formed in February 2005 with the Gillespie Co. SWCD and NRCS.  GPBA’s purpose is to give landowners a safe, economical way to control cedar, prickly pear, and mesquite on private lands through prescribed burning.  Comprehensive “Prescribed Burn Plan” forms were developed for members' use. 

The NRCS District Conservationist and Gillespie County Extension Agent advise the GPBA board of directors.  Three GPBA directors are elected by the membership.  Also, the Gillespie County Fire Marshall, one County Commissioner, and the SWCD District Manager serve as GPBA directors.

The GPBA is a chapter of the Edwards Plateau Prescribed Burn Association (EPPBA), which was formed in Sonora, TX in 1997.  GPBA membership dues are $35 per year and this includes $15 for membership in EPPBA.  Dues are payable in January each year.  Our members go through extensive burn training to insure safe and effective results with prescribed burns.  After essential training, members may share equipment, labor, and knowledge in performing prescribed burns.  Our chapter has about 80 active members in 2011. 

Equipment

GPBA has slide-in sprayers that can be borrowed for prescribed burns.  The sprayers are stored at Beyer’s Fertilizer and Feed, in Fredericksburg, TX.  Drip torches, a weather test kit, prescribed burn warning signs, and 2-way radios can also be borrowed for members’ burns.

Events in 2010 and 2011

In July 2010, EPPBA directors paid for a secondary liability insurance policy that was available for $50 per burn day if a member registered a prescribed burn at least two weeks in advance.  A burn plan with GPS coordinates was to be sent to EPPBA with the registration fee. 

On June 9, 2011, EPPBA directors met in Mason after a general membership meeting.  A report on 2011 burns was given.  EPPBA directors voted unanimously to raise the fee to register a burn to $150 for the first burn day and $50 for each additional burn day for the same burn area.  Burns already registered but not yet completed would be grandfathered.  Also, a motion was made that EPPBA equipment can only be used on sanctioned/insured burns.  The motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

EPPBA’s secondary liability insurance policy expired on July 29; EPPBA directors will meet again before renewing the policy.  Until the policy is renewed, any burns held after July 29, are not insured. 

Gillespie County has been under a burn ban continuously since February 2011.

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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"