MISSOURI—Throughout the Eastern Region of the USDA Forest Service, many of our national forests are fragmented—woven throughout non-federally owned lands. Much of our work is carried out through shared stewardship, partnership, and agreements.

Recently, the Mark Twain National Forest used a Wyden Agreement to incorporate private lands into a prescribed fire project. “The Wyden Agreement allows the Forest Service to enter into cooperative agreements with willing partners and landowners for the protection, restoration and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other resources on non-Forest Service lands,” said Tony Crump, deputy forest supervisor, Mark Twain National Forest. “The Knotwell project and the associated Wyden Agreement is an excellent example of the partnerships happening to increase restoration and decrease wildfire danger in and around Mark Twain National Forest.”

Private land borders the Mark Twain’s boundaries in the Knotwell prescribed burn unit and is positioned between the forest and a road, making an excellent fire containment line. This is commonplace on the national forest because its lands have a non-contiguous ownership pattern. Private citizens, the state of Missouri, and other federal partners share thousands of miles of boundaries with one another in this checkerboard of land ownership across southern and central Missouri. To effectively care for the land, especially when it comes to prescribed fires, Wyden Agreements provide a valuable tool.

Using a Wyden Agreement to include the private land in the Knotwell burn unit allowed Forest Service personnel to more effectively and safely conduct the prescribed fire operation while benefitting the private landowners.

Landowner Mark Dean thought the project was successful. “It can be difficult as a landowner to burn right to the forest border and stop right there,” he said. When Dean works with the forest, though, his land is included in a contiguous burn unit that uses existing features like roads to establish safe and effective boundaries.

“Prescribed burning on our land would not happen as often if we couldn’t coordinate with the Forest Service,” said Dean, who also shared the many benefits that landowners have when participating in Wyden agreements with the Forest. “It reduces wildfire risk, which is real when it gets dry here, and it really cleans up the woods.”

Dean has recruited neighbors, too. “A lot of folks in the county are interested in joining when they hear about it and see the benefits,” he added. This year, Dean saw turkeys foraging in the Knotwell unit just after the burn and he found more mushrooms on his property within the area as well.