Open burn permit update advanced

A bill intended to help policymakers better understand the use of prescribed burning in Nebraska advanced from general file Feb. 11.

LB823, introduced by Fremont Sen. Dave Wordekemper, would update the definition of land-management burning to include both controlled burning and prescribed burning and create definitions for the latter two practices, which he said are “fundamentally different.”

Controlled burning is intended primarily for cleanup of debris or vegetation in situations where the spread of fire is limited to a small area, Wordekemper said, whereas prescribed burning is the systematic application of fire to manage vegetation, control weeds and pests, prevent wildland fires and carry out certain other activities.

He said prescribed burning is the “most effective and cost-efficient tool” for managing Nebraska’s grasslands at a time when eastern redcedar continues to spread across the state, threatening rangeland and increasing wildfire risk.

LB823 would require open burning permits issued by fire chiefs to specify whether land-management burning is to be a prescribed burning or a controlled burning as well as the approximate number of acres to be burned.

Landowners would be required to provide the same information when filing an application for a permit and a plan for conducting a burning.

Wordekemper said the requirements would help policymakers, researchers, conservation groups and landowners collect data on where and how frequently prescribed burning is happening in Nebraska.

“That information will inform future policy decisions about how we support this critical land management practice,” he said.

LB823 advanced to select file on a vote of 30-0.