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Fire is an integral part of the Florida landscape. But what resources exist to support our private landowners who want to incorporate prescribed fires into their management plans? Without a team of skilled professionals on the payroll, safety and fire knowledge are of utmost importance to anyone wanting to ignite prescribed fires on their land. This publication aims to connect Florida landowners with the resources they need for prescribed burning, from planning to ignition to mop up and declaring a fire out. Resources are presented for local, boots-on-the-ground help, as well as training and regional information. Although this is not a comprehensive list, it will guide private landowners who wish to manage their properties with prescribed fire.

Wiregrass (Aristida beyrichiana/stricta) is an understory grass most often associated with the ecosystem health, function, and biodiversity over a substantial part of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) range, especially in Florida. Wiregrass is frequently the primary herbaceous plant species seeded into restoration projects because it is known to carry the frequent, low intensity fires essential for maintaining open canopy savannas. A limitation to restoration of longleaf pine savannas is the availability of a sufficient amount of viable wiregrass seed or plugs (plants that have been grown in small trays and are installed individually). Here, we examine qualitative data to identify and contextualize the economic, logistical, and ecological barriers to the availability of wiregrass for restoration. We conducted semi-structured interviews of private landowners, public land managers, and conservation organization staff members which revealed the presence of an informal economy. These findings should help landowners and land managers address and overcome restoration challenges in longleaf pine ecosystems and inform policy decisions and program design to promote successful longleaf pine restoration.

Abstract Large wildfires are increasing across numerous regions of the globe. While the West has remained a primary focus of wildfire research and resources in the U.S., recent signals suggest that wildfire risk is increasing in the eastern U.S. as well. We conducted an in‐depth assessment of large (>200 ha) wildfire regime characteristics (size, number, total hectares burned, seasonality, probability of occurrence, and ignition source) over a 36‐year period across the Eastern Temperate Forests of the U.S. to quantify geographic patterns in large‐wildfire regime and identify changing spatio‐temporal large wildfire patterns. We found increases in large wildfire size, occurrence, number, and total hectares burned in the southern and eastern regions of the Eastern Temperate Forests. In contrast, large wildfires declined or were minimal in northern ecoregions. We demonstrate increasing large wildfires across some of the most populated regions of the United States.

Managing wildfire in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) is challenging. Maintaining community preparedness is a crucial step in mitigating wildfire risk. Wise management of vegetation in and around communities, including procedures such as mechanical fuel reduction, herbiciding, and prescribed fire can be used to keep fuel loads low and increase the safety of developments in fire-prone areas. Using fire-resistant materials for building construction and landscaping with firewise plants are also important steps to decrease wildfire risk.

For homeowners who live in an area with a medium to high risk of wildfire, creating an area of defensible space is crucial for protecting homes. The movement of a wildfire is controlled primarily by the flammability of the plants present and how those plants are arranged, both vertically and horizontally. This publication details how the structure and composition of the vegetation, from leaf to the whole plant, affect the likelihood that a fire will ignite and spread. It also describes how plants' horizontal and vertical arrangement can affect wildfire ignition and spread near homes, concluding with recommendations for firewise landscaping.

Fire protection is a necessary consideration when building homes and designing neighborhoods in Florida. The type, amount, and structure of vegetation surrounding the development and individual houses will affect the risk that homes will catch fire. Architects and developers can significantly reduce wildfire risk for those living and working in Florida by using fire-resistant materials and managing the landscape around developments. This publication details specific recommendations for planning and designing defensible developments, including wildfire mitigation planning, vegetation management, and home construction, and how to balance the risks with the costs of risk mitigation strategies.

Properties in the wildland-urban interface frequently use shrubs in landscaping. Although shrubs are attractive, some types can be risky to plant near structures in fire-prone areas. Property owners in such areas should consult existing guides for shrubs that do not burn easily and should routinely maintain shrubs and other vegetation within the defensible space around houses and other structures.

There is an increase in reported tick-borne illnesses as the tick geographic range expands past historical boundaries. Prescribed fires, ignited intentionally for specific management goals, can indirectly affect tick abundance by disrupting tick predator and prey interactions and altering suitable tick habitat. The high temperatures during prescribed fires can also directly induce tick mortality. Repeated prescribed fires in southeastern United States tick habitat can be an affordable and environmentally conscious management option.

Wildfire risk depends on the landscape surrounding communities and the vegetation immediately surrounding homes. To protect their homes, residents should consider both the materials used to construct their houses and the vegetation type and arrangement in the area around them. This publication presents information on how to landscape the vegetation, selecting plants with low flammability, pruning ladder fuels, and removing highly combustible materials to create a low-risk area of defensible space around their houses.

Fire-dependent ecosystems in the southeastern U.S. such as Longleaf pine (LLP; Pinus palustris) ecosystems have lost a significant portion of their historic range due to numerous factors including fire suppression and land conversion. These ecosystems require frequent prescribed fires to maintain ecosystem health, function, and the provisioning of ecosystem services. Prescribed fires are also used to mitigate wildfire risks by reducing fuel loads. Despite these benefits, there are numerous barriers to implementing prescribed fires that might be social, political, ecological, and economic in nature and should be addressed accordingly. Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) and other collaborative agreements are written tools that public agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and private entities use to formally resolve challenges and establish standards and protocols that reduce barriers to prescribed fire use. MOU content provides a rich perspective on prescribed fire issues. This qualitative study uses thematic analysis to investigate MOUs as a mechanism of collective action for fire management. We analyzed n = 21 agreements and identified six emergent themes: 1) Agreements are a mechanism for increasing prescribed fire use and wildfire prevention, 2) Different regulations and requirements are needed depending on which agencies are involved, 3) Agreements exist as an acknowledgement of the need for and benefits of collective action, 4) Agreements have little impact on liability, 5) Trust and reciprocity are increased/developed through agreements, and 6) Agreements delegate authority and roles under specific contexts. These findings demonstrate how formalized agreements might increase the implementation of prescribed fire and how they are used. Moreover, by examining different formalized agreements, we showcase how these agreements differ depending on initial need and partners involved. In doing so, our findings will help land managers and other entities prioritize components of an agreement based in collective action.