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National Fire Plan Success Story

Increasing Public Awareness
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield, Missouri
National Fire Plan - Fuels Reduction & Community Assistance

Picture of television crews filming the action of the Wilson's Creek Prescribed Fire.
Three television stations film implementation of the Wilson's Creek Prescribed Fire. NPS photo by J. Michael Johnson.

Just outside of Springfield, Missouri, Wilson's Creek National Battlefield is witnessing development around its boundaries at an unprecedented rate. In some cases, only a fence lies between the NPS battlefield and large, new homes. Begin with a steadily increasing wildland-urban interface, add two tornadoes and a catastrophic ice storm - and you have a hazardous fuels recipe for disaster.

Park managers and fire program specialists reacted quickly to these events by planning and implementing a comprehensive fuels reduction effort. Interestingly, the seven prescribed burns (totaling 841 acres) conducted in spring 2007 simultaneously met important goals for maintaining the cultural landscape and ecosystem restoration.

Completing the prescribed burns in a professional manner included informing the public. Park managers and the fire management officer were determined to keep the public apprised of the plan and made education a priority to help prevent confusion or misunderstanding. Multiple press releases were produced before the burns, adjacent landowners were phoned, and an invitation was issued to the local television stations to be on-site during the prescribed fire. All of them accepted, and gave considerable coverage to the event on the day of the prescribed fire as well as on the following morning's news program. In addition, radio station interviews helped reach an even wider audience.

As a result, the public was exposed to important concepts such as fuels reduction, and the necessity of fire for cultural landscape maintenance and ecosystem restoration. By proactively inviting media to the incident briefing and organizing access opportunities to safely witness implementation, fire managers helped the media effectively convey an accurate message. As one Wilson's Creek NB manager said, "I don't remember better media coverage for a prescribed burn at Wilson's Creek. I think (it) turned a potentially controversial subject into an educational opportunity."

The Wilson's Creek fuels reduction project offered a reminder that although getting the work done is extremely important… and a key element of successful implementation is helping your neighbors understand what is going on and why the project is necessary.

Contact: Angela Smith, Fire Communication and Education Specialist
Phone: (573) 323-8234 ext. 21