We’re a coalition of local community members and land managers interested in using fire to steward our landscapes.
What’s a Prescribed Burn Association?
The first PBAs developed in the Great Plains as a way for ranchers and farmers to assist one another in burning their properties. Since then, the PBA model has spread nationwide. The Mt. Adams PBA serves as a community-based mutual aid network for the greater Columbia Gorge area: community members helping each other safely use prescribed fire to manage private lands for ecological and social benefit.
For us, this means sharing our time and equipment, learning together through workshops and trainings, and advocating for the expanded use of “good fire” region-wide.
To learn about other PBAs in Washington State, visit wapba.org
Who’s involved?
The Mt. Adams PBA is composed of local community members and non-governmental organizations. Some folks own or manage land, others don’t. Some have experience with fire or firefighting, others don’t. We are bound by a shared belief that we need more fire on our local landscapes to confront social and ecological problems. Our geographic extent includes Klickitat and adjacent counties, including those in Oregon.
How did this start?
In 2022, three non-profit organizations in Washington came together to address a problem in the Pacific Northwest: despite the increasing recognition of prescribed fire’s importance as a land management tool, there are few resources available to support its use on private lands. Mt. Adams Resource Stewards, Columbia Land Trust, and Sustainable Northwest set out to develop one of the first PBAs in Washington State.
After months of strategizing, they kicked off the PBA with a 3-day “Learn & Burn” workshop in May 2023, which culminated in a 25-acre burn on the Mt. Adams Community Forest. As the PBA continues to develop, it is guided by the input and goals of its membership.