Episode 74: Prescribed Burn Associations

Oregon State University’s In the Woods podcast host Jacob Putney interviews OSU Extension regional fire specialists Chris Adlam (southwest Oregon) and Micah Schmidt (northeast Oregon) about Prescribed Burn Associations (PBAs) and their role in expanding prescribed fire on non-federal lands. They describe how fire suppression became dominant over the past century despite long Indigenous burning traditions, and how PBAs re-emerged in the 1990s in the Great Plains and later spread to California and Oregon. PBAs are community networks where neighbors and partner organizations share labor, equipment, planning, and training to conduct safe burns, often with volunteers and sometimes paid coordination. Guests discuss Oregon PBAs’ growth and accomplishments, benefits like changing public attitudes and building social license, and barriers including capacity, permitting, funding, liability concerns, and limited region-specific research. They share ways to get involved via OSU’s Extension Fire Program resources, trainings, and documentaries. 00:00 Podcast Intro00:32 Meet The Hosts01:21 Chris Fire Ecology Path02:22 Micah Prescribed Fire Work03:32 What PBAs Are03:52 Prescribed Fire History05:11 PBA Origins And Growth06:47 How PBAs Form Operate09:49 Who Can Participate12:58 Oregon PBAs Impact17:22 Changing Fire Relationships20:48 Extension Role In PBAs24:01 Barriers And Challenges26:14 Prescribed Fire Roadblocks26:27 Landowner Research Gaps27:39 Permits And Capacity Fixes28:36 Future Of PBAs30:34 More Fire And Youth Training31:39 How To Join Or Start35:39 Volunteer Skills Needed37:20 Parting Thoughts And Tribal Roots38:57 Training And Broad Support41:45 Lightning Round Micah45:33 Lightning Round Chris50:00 Wrap Up And Credits