A Prescribed Fire Field Tour for landowners is scheduled on Tuesday, April 29 from 6 PM to 9 PM EDT. Ron Rathfon, Purdue Extension Forester will lead a tour of tracts recently managed using prescribed fire at the Southern Indiana Purdue Agriculture Center (SIPAC), near Dubois. Brian Finch, IDNR Wildlife Specialist and Patoka Lake Assistant Property Manager will assist with the tour.
The Field Tour will begin and end at the Education Building at SIPAC, located at 11371 E Purdue Farm Rd, Dubois, IN 47527. Plan on entering the main doors when you arrive. Onsite registration begins at 6 PM, boarding vehicles at 6:20, with the tour from 6:30 to 8:30. Refreshments will be available at 8:30, and Ron Rathfon and Brian Finch will be available for any follow up questions or discussion until 9 PM.
Topics to be covered include Indiana’s fire history, the benefits and drawbacks of fire as a forest management tool, fire behavior, creating and using burn plans, fire safety, tools used for prescribed fire, Indiana’s laws regarding prescribed fire, and assistance available through USDA Farm Bill programs. Tour participants will either carpool or ride a Purdue trailer to the various sites. There will be minimal walking in a hilly forest to view and learn about the sites. Participants should wear appropriate clothing and footwear for walking in the woods on a late April evening. No prescribed burning will take place during the tour.
Pre-registration is requested. Contact Judi Brown, Let the Sun Shine In-Indiana Coordinator at 812-631-4904, or JBrown@abcbirds.org, for more information, or to register. In the event of inclement weather, the tour will be postponed. Registered attendees will be notified.
Sponsors for the Prescribed Fire Field Tour are Purdue Cooperative Extension Service, IDNR Division of State Parks and Let the Sun Shine In-Indiana. Let the Sun Shine In-Indiana (www.letthesunshinein-indiana.com) is a collaboration of Indiana organizations, including Purdue Extension and Indiana Department of Natural Resources, focused on recovering and maintaining Indiana’s oak-hickory ecosystems for the benefit of the wildlife and the people of Indiana.
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