Semester of Graduation
Fall 2025
Degree
Master of Science (MS)
Department
School of Renewable Natural Resources
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Periodic fire was a primary driver of ecosystems across the Southeastern United States for millennia; however, fire suppression policies have become pervasive in the United States and led to increased fuel loads in forests as well as reduced biodiversity and reduced disease resilience. Prescribed fire presents a risk mitigation strategy and land management tool whereby practitioners can apply fire to the landscape in a controlled manner, thus reaping the benefits of fire while minimizing the risks associated with fire. Land in Louisiana is primarily privately managed and owned, so state-level conservation goals cannot be met without private landowner participation. As such, it is imperative that we, as natural resource managers, understand private landowner attitudes towards and knowledge of prescribed fire. I prepared a ~45 question survey to identify private landowner attitudes towards and knowledge of prescribed fire and wildfire and distributed it to private landowners in grasslands, timberlands, and wetlands in Louisiana. I extended this survey to private landowners engaged in extension activities to identify differences in attitudes across private landowner groups. I also surveyed community leaders as they are likely to have influence over private landowners in their area. I analyzed this data in broad survey analysis groups (e.g., community leaders, private landowners, and private landowners engaged in extension activities), as well as, survey groups (e.g. grassland mailed private landowner surveys, wetland community leaders, and Florida parishes participants engaged in extension programming). I also modeled prescribed fire use by private landowners and found that land ownership time, education level, and focal area (e.g., grasslands, timberlands, and wetlands) were the most important factors in determining someone’s probability of using prescribed fire. Results of my study suggest that geographically targeted extension activities aimed at recruiting new private landowners could prove very effective in increasing the use of prescribed fire on private lands in Louisiana.
Date
11-3-2025
Recommended Citation
Crawford, Chloe E., "Examining Private Landowner And Stakeholder Attitudes, Perceptions, and Knowledge Of Prescribed Fire In Louisiana" (2025). LSU Master's Theses. 6267.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/6267
Committee Chair
Long, Ashley M.
Included in
Agriculture Commons, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons, Forest Biology Commons, Forest Management Commons