Prescribed burning cost recovery analysis on nonindustrial private forestland in North Carolina
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
A statewide internal analysis of prescribed burning costs was conducted by the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources (NCDFR) in 2008 to examine the regional differences of site preparation and silvicultural burning costs, and to determine which components were most responsible for losses or gains. This study analyzed actual costs for 90 site preparation (2,559 acres) and 76 silvicultural burns (3,932 acres) conducted across North Carolina in 2008. Summary statistics revealed that NCDFR incurred a net loss/acre statewide on both types of prescribed burning. Silvicultural prescribed burns resulted in a smaller loss (-$7/acre) than site preparation burning (-$11/acre). Losses resulting from construction and patrolling fire lines were higher for site preparation burns (-$425/mile) than for silvicultural burns (-$317/mile). Recommendations were sent to agency administrators to revise rates to recover expenses while continuing to provide prescribed burning services at the lowest-possible cost to nonindustrial private forest nonindustrial private forest (NIPF) landowners.