This letter explains how the Prescribed Burn Association of McHenry County will operate, what membership includes, and how interested landowners, land managers, and organizations can join.
We are very happy to announce that the Prescribed Burn Association of McHenry County is alive and operating. We can now begin accepting new members. There is still work to do, but our goal is to conduct burns in the spring, with a possible limited opportunity for fall burns this year if members are interested.
Below is a summary of what we have accomplished, the membership options and fees, what members can expect, and the responsibilities we are asking members to share.
Our agreement with TLC has been executed, so we can now accept memberships, apply for grants, accept donations and pay bills! As part of our agreement, TLC will be our fiscal sponsor, so they will receive any money for our benefit and pay expenses for us out of our funds.
We submitted a grant application to the ILDNR for a burn trailer and equipment. We are keeping our fingers crossed and expect to hear whether we are successful in a few months. Because we are not counting on the grant, we will also survey new members to determine what fire equipment people may have available to lend or use on member burns.
We spent some time working on the membership offering. Below are the key details.
The annual membership fee is $200 for an individual landowner or land manager and $300 for an organization. The membership year runs from October 1 to September 30.
There is a Supporter membership available for those that do not own land they want to burn but want to support the PBA. The fee for this membership is $50.
Of course, volunteers are always welcome and do not need to be a member of the PBA.
Organization membership is available for organizations that want to participate in or support the PBA.
A burn fee will be charged when we come out to perform a prescribed burn on a member's property. The fee will be $200 for a simple burn and $400 for a complex burn. The simple or complex designation will be determined during development of the burn plan and will depend on factors such as number of acres, adjacent infrastructure and roads, neighbors, fuel type, and crew size. The PBA reserves the right to calculate a higher fee for large or unusually complex burns.
The burn fee is charged per day. Some properties may require more than one burn day, such as burning woods one day and prairie another day, and an additional fee would apply. If a burn is cancelled due to weather, staffing, or other reasons, no burn fee will be charged.
The following is what a member receives for their membership.
Membership includes the right to request that the PBA conduct a prescribed burn on your property, subject to burn-plan approval, crew availability, weather, and available equipment.
A burn plan and an IEPA burn permit are included. We will hold a burn plan writing workshop this winter, where members can bring information about their property and develop a burn plan.
Members will have access to a burn workshop where they can learn more about prescribed burns and gain practical experience.
Members will have access to crew support and available equipment for burns on their property. As mentioned earlier, it will be a while before we know whether we receive the equipment grant, so available equipment may be a limiting factor early on.
While our first main burn season will be in the spring, we expect to have capacity for a few fall burns. We will need to begin those quickly so the burn plan and IEPA permit can be completed. If you want a fall burn, please let us know.
During this first burn year, demand may exceed our capacity because of crew and equipment limitations. If that happens, we will endeavor to schedule members based first on when they joined.
This is a "neighbors helping neighbors" type of organization. Below are some of the things that we are looking for members to provide.
Firebreaks are the landowner's responsibilities and need to be completed the day before the burn. The firebreaks will be verified by photos or a site visit.
Members are expected to volunteer before having a burn on their property. Volunteer time may include helping on another member's burn, establishing firebreaks, assisting with burn plans or burn permits, or supporting other PBAprojects.
The burn schedule will run on crew availability and also the weather, so flexibility is required from members for the actual date of the burn.
We are excited to be at this point and look forward to welcoming new members. Please feel free to share this information with neighbors and friends who may be interested in the PBA. Because crew and equipment capacity will be limited during our startup phase, burn requests will generally be prioritized by join date.
To secure your spot, please complete our online membership application and payment at https://mchenrypba.org/membership.
For questions or to express interest in a Fall burn, please contact us at mchenrypba@gmail.com. We look forward to working alongside you!
Thanks!
Your PBA Board
Hugh Frisbie, Chair - hugh.frisbie@gmail.com
Steven Byers, Treasurer - stevecofs@gmail.com
Mike Evans, Secretary - mevansoutside@gmail.com
Tom Burroughs - gtburroughs@gmail.com
Ed Collins - provencegill@yahoo.com
Mike Spilotro - mspilo11@gmail.com
Ken Williams - kawlms@yahoo.com