Need for the Council
Prescribed fire is an important land management tool for achieving ecological, agricultural, wildfire protection and other objectives.
In Wisconsin, prescribed fire is used by government agencies, non-profit organizations, for-profit businesses and private landowners. There is no regulatory framework specifically designed to regulate prescribed fire; instead, prescribed burning falls under regulations designed to control wildfire, which do not adequately address prescribed burning issues.
In 2003 there were no means for the different entities and individuals involved in prescribed fire to formally work together. The Wisconsin Prescribed Fire Council was formed to provide a unified voice for the safe and effective use of prescribed fire throughout the state and beyond.
History
The WPFC’s origins date to 2003, with informal meetings of prescribed fire practitioners from The Nature Conservancy, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the Prairie Enthusiasts and other organizations. Originally known as the “Private Lands Prescribed Burn Group”, the group established committees to address prescribed fire issues including agency policy, outreach and education, insurance, cooperation and partnership, and training. Following the example of a similar group in Michigan, the name “Wisconsin Prescribed Fire Council” was adopted.
The WPFC created a Statement of Membership Principles and adopted bylaws (see below for the latest iteration) in July of 2005 and formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) organization in 2008. Since then, it has formed various committees to address specific barriers to prescribed fire implementation in Wisconsin.
The WPFC was run entirely by volunteers until the first employee was hired in 2020. The WPFC now employs 4 part-time staff, but remains a volunteer-led organization.
Accomplishments
View our latest impact report here!
Since its founding in 2003, the WPFC has carried out the following activities:
- Compiled lists of prescribed burn practitioners, including contractors available for hire and organizations accepting volunteers on their burn crew.
- Surveyed practitioners regarding their education and training needs.
- Created a door hanger to be used to notify neighbors when a prescribed burn is to occur, with five habitat-specific educational inserts.
- Cooperated with an Iowa DNR-funded project to survey prescribed burn practitioners regarding escapes and insurance claims, and to develop an insurance product to cover prescribed burns.
- Developed a set of training and qualification standards for burn crew members, squad bosses, and burn bosses that would provide a minimum training requirement for burn crews that cannot practically meet the National Wildfire Coordinating Group requirements.
- Developed burn plan standards and templates defining the minimum information to be included in a prescribed burn plan.
- Created an email distribution list to communicate Council business and other information of interest to prescribed fire practitioners.
- Sponsored a Prescribed Fire roundtable discussion at the North American Prairie Conference in September 2004.
- Organized three-day prescribed fire conferences starting in 2006 and now occurring on a yearly basis. Each conference has featured 30+ presentations, 5+ plenary sessions, and hundreds of attendees representing private and public organizations across the Midwest.
- Published informational brochures and a Vision Document describing the WPFC’s efforts.
- Provided input to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in the development of a state Smoke Management Plan.
- Provided input to the US EPA on proposed changes to smoke management regulations.
- Provided information to the national Coalition of Fire Councils regarding prescribed fire in Wisconsin.
- Curated audience-specific lists of prescribed fire resources, located on this website.
- Developed a glossary of prescribed fire terms and a prescribed fire primer to orient practitioners to common prescribed fire language and crew structures.
- Created the prescribed fire complexity worksheet to help burn planners evaluate and communicate the complexity and considerations around implementing a particular burn.
- Hosted field trips across the state exploring the effects of prescribed fire on private lands.
- Facilitated the founding and growth of Wisconsin’s first Prescribed Burn Associations.
- Hosted the WPFC’s first introductory training program in 2024, helping students and landowners access a critical entry point to prescribed fire implementation. This program is now offered multiple times each year around Wisconsin, often in partnership with other nonprofit and university organizations.
- Hosted Wisconsin’s first publicly-available, state-specific Squad Boss Training in 2025. This program is now offered multiple times each year around Wisconsin.
- Facilitated the 5-day Wisconsin Burn Boss Academy in 2025, helping to meet Wisconsin’s need for qualified burn leadership. This program is now offered on a regular basis.
- Launched the Wisconsin Certified Burn Boss Program in 2025, providing burn bosses with a clear pathway to gaining a DNR-recognized leadership credential.
Council Bylaws
The Wisconsin Prescribed Fire Council developed and adopted the official WPFC Bylaws in July of 2005. The latest updates occurred in January 2023, adjusting the number of directors from ten to fourteen.
