JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites landowners, land managers, and contractors to harness the power of prescribed fire to both achieve their land-management goals and benefit native plants and wildlife through the updated training --  Prescribed Burning for Missouri Land Managers.

Prescribed burning mimics the historical occurrence of fire that shaped our plant communities, but it is conducted under a prescription of specified environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, fuel moisture, wind speed and direction.

Landowners, land managers, and contractors can become certified prescribed burn managers through a self-paced three-hour online prescribed burn course followed by an all-day field exercise to demonstrate skills learned. There is a $25 fee for the online course, but the cost may be covered through a coupon or agency code from an MDC private land conservationist.

Learn more from MDC about prescribed fire, prescribed burn certification classes, field exercises, and more at mdc.mo.gov/your-property/fire-management/prescribed-fire. Check the information under ONLINE PRESCRIBED BURN CLASS for course details, coupon/discount-fee offerings, and scheduled field exercises. If there are no nearby exercise scheduled, complete the survey to indicate a location preference to attend one.