Dear TSCRA member:

Texas A&M University is leading a collaborative study, in accordance with the mission of the federal Joint Fire Science Program, to address the social and regulatory barriers to the use of prescribed fire by private land managers in the Southern Great Plains. This study is being driven by the fact that elevated fuel loads and greater drought frequency have resulted in more erratic and severe wildfires, which has led to calls for the increased use of prescribed fire to reduce fuel loads. However, these calls have not led to the widespread adoption of prescribed fire on private lands. The study aims to provide a better understanding of factors that influence landowner decisions about the use of this important land management practice on their land.

We are contacting members of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) to help meet the objectives of this important study.

As a landowner, your insight, opinion and experience are vitally important for addressing this wildfire management issue. Your participation will involve completing an online survey questionnaire, which will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. Your responses are anonymous because the survey is being administered by the TSCRA, which is not providing information to us about the members to whom the survey announcement is being sent, and there are no respondent identifiers in the questionnaire.

To begin this survey simply click the following link: CLICK OR TAP HERE.

This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board at Texas A&M University. For questions about your rights as a participant, to provide input regarding research, or if you have complaints or concerns about the research, you may contact the Texas A&M University Human Research Protection Program by phone at 1-979-458-4067, toll free at 1-855-795-8636, or by email at irb@tamu.edu.

If you have any questions about the survey questionnaire, please contact Dr. Urs Kreuter, who is directing the study, by email at urs@tamu.edu.

We know your time is valuable and thank you in advance for supporting this endeavor!

Sincerely,

Urs P. Kreuter, PhD
Joan Negley Kelleher Endowed Professor