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Class hours: 21-day sessions four times each year from January to April. Class is 8 hours per day, five days per week. Focus: The development and perfecting of skills needed for successful and responsible use of prescribed fire in the Southeastern US, and knowledge of the roles of prescribed burning for natural resource benefits. Planning, management, and conducting of prescribed burning will be required. Learning Outcomes: At the end of the course, each student will be able to: 1. Evaluate critical factors in fuels, weather, and fire behavior and their importance in fire control, use and management; 2. Demonstrate prescribed fire control, safety, planning, and operations; 3. Understand the application of monitoring and research to inform fire applications and evaluation of fire use effectiveness. Textbook: Handbook/manual, “A Guide for Prescribed Fire in Southern Forests ” (USDA National Wildfire Coordinating Group PMS 431-2: 1989) distributed at beginning of course session. Class format: One week of in-class lecture, followed by two weeks of field trips to observe fire behavior and effects, conduct prescribed burns or field exercises, and evaluate fire results. Assignments and Evaluation of Student Performance ( % of grade): (Described in detail below) 1. Pre-course preparatory work (5%) 2. Ten succinct messages assignment (due before leaving FL) (15%) 3. Critical analysis paper: See description below course outline (60%). 4. Plan and implement prescribed burns (15%