Central Alabama Prescribed Burn Association

Neighbor helping neighbor

We seek to teach competence in conducting all burns safely, to provide an economical way for even small acreage landowners to return fire to their land, and to improve our community’s understanding and attitude towards fire in the landscape.

We believe restoring and improving land with fire is a community effort

Prescribed burning is a safe and useful tool for reducing hazardous fuel loads, improving wildlife and livestock habitat, vegetation quality, and biodiversity.

The Central Alabama Prescribed Burn Association was founded by burn managers, foresters, and landowners with a united goal of bringing central Alabama landowners together with the people and resources needed to safely improve habitat and restore the wildlife capacity and diversity to as many acres as possible.

Our Purpose

Applying fire to landscape
Image Courtesy: CFM Fire Managers (C)

Small-acreage landowners are our focus

Every acre and every person counts in this effort.

The NRCS can provide funding to help make small (under 100 acres) landowners conduct burns that are otherwise prohibitively expensive. Our membership and board have years of history with this process and can help new members.

We strongly encourage members to talk to their neighbors about including adjacent properties in one burn. Combining adjacent parcels helps burn managers take advantage of existing fire breaks to limit dozer use and to serve several land owners at once while adding more acres of premium habitat from each burn effort.

Small tract landowners coming together for a single coordinated burn effort get our association’s top priority.

Why CA-PBA is Important

We encourage and facilitate more practitioners becoming Certified Prescribed Burn Managers

We expand the safe use of prescribed fire on fire adapted landscape in Alabama

We pool resources to produce an effective team

whereas individually we are limited

We provide a template for affiliate PBAs to form in Alabama

We provide a legal mechanism to apply & receive grants, funding to assemble burn trailers, & finance burn teams

We partner with AFC, ALPFC & other significant sponsors to increase effectiveness

We increase efficiency (reduce costs & escapes) of prescribed fire applications

We are in the right part of the state to come out swinging as we enjoy a social license to burn.

95% of AL forested landscape is privately owned

We increase capacity to apply prescribed fire and the competence of practitioners

Our 2022 Results

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Members
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New Burn Managers Certified
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Learn n' Burn Events
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Burn Trailer

Meet our PBA Board

CAPBA President John Stivers

John Stivers

CAPBA President

BS in Forest Management, University of Arkansas at Monticello, 1982; 19 years USDA Forest Service, Silviculturist &Timber Sales Specialist, Ouachita NF, Talladega NF; 4 years, USDA Forest Service, Fire & Aviation, Atlanta GA Prescribed Fire & Fuels Specialist; 18 years Private Consulting Forester in AL & GA; Registered Forester in AL & GA, Association of Consulting Foresters, Society of American Foresters Certified Forester, Alabama Forestry Association member; Certified burn manager in AL, GA & FL; Board member National Coalition of Rx Fire Councils, AL Prescribed Fire Council; Teaches AL Certified Burn Manager program for AL Forestry Commission for past 15 years; Owner Fire Ignition Resources LLC (US distributor Premo aerial ignition machines and Fireballs); Member of Gideons International, Christian, married 34 years, 2 sons, resides near Talladega AL.

Mark Tuggle

CAPBA Vice-President

Mark Tuggle earned his A.S. from Alexander City State Junior College in 1986, his B.S. in forest management from Auburn University in 1988, and his M.S. in management from Faulkner University in 2007. At the time of his service in the state House, his professional experience included working as a forester. Served as Representative, Alabama State House of Representatives, District 81, 2010-2018. Former Chair, State Government Committee, Alabama State House of Representatives, Former Member, Ways and Means Education Committee, Alabama State House of Representatives, Former Member, Internal Affairs Committee, Alabama State House of Representatives, Former Member, Permanent Joint Transportation Committee, Alabama State House of Representatives Involved in many local civic causes Lions Club, Kiwanis, and Quail Forever.

Brigetta Giles

West Central Alabama Prescribed Burn Coordinator

Brigetta Giles earned a B.S. in Forest Management from Auburn University in 1993. During that time,
she did a two-year Co-op with the U.S. Forest Service where she participated in many site prep and
compartment burns.

She started work with the Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC) in 1994. She held several positions throughout her career with AFC including staff forester, TREASURE Forest State Coordinator, Autauga County Forester, Chilton/Autauga/Montgomery/Lowndes Work Unit Manager, and South East Regional Forester. She is a Certified Burn Manager and has conducted many burns in her career.

She retired from AFC in 2019. She worked with the Alabama Forestry Foundation as the Alabama Tree Farm Coordinator ending in 2021. She and her husband have a Tree Farm in Chilton County.

John Pirtle

CAPBA Treasurer

Owner, Pirtle Forestry Services for 12 years where he manages thousands of acres in central Alabama with fire and other silvicultural practices.

He spent over 20 years with the Alabama Forestry Commission in various titles including Northwest Regional Forester, Director of the Forest Management Division and Autauga County Forester/Manager.

As a young forester, he served for 9 years with Union Camp as Procurement Forester, Technical Supervisor for the Alabama Region, Area Forester on the Autauga Forest.

Auburn University Forestry Grad.

Army Veteran.

Lee Stuckey

Board member

East Central Alabama Prescribed Burn Coordinator

Lee J. Stuckey is a native of Montgomery, Al, a retired United States Marine Corps Major with a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation with a “V” for Valor during combat, Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal and various other personal decorations, who served over 22 years as both an Enlisted Infantryman and Logistics Officer with 6 deployments. He received his Undergraduate Degree in Business from Auburn University and a Master Degree in Organizational Leadership and another one in International Relations.  


Lee has spent his the latter part of his life striving to end veteran suicide through outdoor recreational therapy by giving veterans and first responders a new sense of purpose and pride in belonging. Lee now speaks across the nation to help educate communities and veterans alike, to help raise an understanding on how we can fight this issue together. After 22 years in the Marine Corps, three combat deployments, and over a decade focused towards helping veterans get through their darkest times.  


Lee currently serves on the Board of Directors for various nonprofits to include America’s Heroes Enjoying Recreation Outdoors, Central Alabama Prescribed Burn Association, Romanian American Mission, Service Dogs Alabama, and Founded Operation Phoenix.

Association Documents

CA-PBA Bylaws

click to download

Burn Sign: Caution Smoke Ahead Prescribe Burn

Templates for CAPBA Burn Documentation

We want to ensure all bases are covered, all requirements for safety and legality are met or exceeded and properly documented, and that burns are being conducted according to our association’s high standards.

Burn Managers planning a CAPBA facilitated burn, please use the following MS Word templates.

Sponsors

Business and organizational support for the Central Alabama PBA will help us increase capacity to get more of the landscape treated, will increase efficiency by pooling resources, will increase confidence of practitioners, provide a legal mechanism to apply for grants, and will increase the pool of Certified Prescribed Burn Mangers in Alabama.

We ask businesses and organizations with vested interest with the continued success of prescribed fire, to join with us to achieve this mission by becoming a Sponsor.

The Gold Sponsor level is $500, Silver is $300 and Bronze is $150 per year.

Sponsor levels can be attained by direct financial support or agreed upon in-kind services. Examples of in-kind services include but are not limited to donation of materials and supplies (ie drip torch, Prescribed Burn Ahead signs-stands, 5-gallon safety burn fuel cans, leather gloves, insulated water coolers et al).

Central Alabama Prescribed Burn Association is a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization. Donations are tax deductible.

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors

Shiloh Land Timber logo