AgriLife Extension launches redesigned online prescribed burn school
Self-paced course provides landowners with knowledge, skills to use fire as land management tool
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has launched an updated version of the agency’s self-guided, online prescribed burn school designed for landowners and land management professionals.
The course comprises 12 modules and provides participants with the background, knowledge and skills needed to safely and confidently apply prescribed fire as a land management tool.
The course cost is $300, and participants can register at tx.ag/PrescribedBurnSchool2026. Discounted registration is available for members of prescribed burn associations following verification. Participants can anticipate the self-paced course taking roughly 24 hours to complete.
A certificate of completion will be provided for those who finish the course. Individuals who complete the course are also eligible to pursue the official exam and field component to apply to become a Texas Department of Agriculture Certified and Insured Prescribed Burn Manager.
About the course
The course instructor is Morgan Treadwell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension range specialist and professor in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, San Angelo.
“Fire is a critical component of a healthy, well-managed rangeland,” Treadwell said. “Through this course, you will learn directly from prescribed burn experts with an emphasis on fire behavior, employing the correct firing technique, equipment, safety and much more.”
Following completion of the program, participants will be able to:
- Explain the history of fire as an ecological tool.
- Describe fire behavior according to physical and chemical principles.
- Analyze fire’s effect on plant communities and wildlife habitats.
- Prepare for weather conditions as they relate to burning.
- Discuss the impact of topographic influences on fire behavior.
- Evaluate fuels present across many environments.
- Identify proper burning equipment and safety techniques.
- Employ proper firing technique according to the prescribed burn goals and objectives.
- Plan a prescribed burn.
- Evaluate potential burn sites.
- Mitigate smoke impacts.
- Recognize laws and regulations regarding prescribed burning.
For more information, contact Treadwell at [email protected] or David Brooke, AgriLife Extension statewide prescribed fire program coordinator, San Angelo, at [email protected].
