November 2022 • Nebraskaland 35
Trained in Fire
Chad Bladow was raised in
the small town of Hankinson,
North Dakota. He spent his
childhood summers on his
grandparents' nearby farm
and lake-side cabin where he
roamed the land, camped,
fished and developed a love of
nature.
In 1996, while pursuing
a degree in wildlife and
fisheries from
the University of
North Dakota,
his venture into
prescribed fire
began when
he interned
for a semester
in Florida and
helped burn
pine woodlands.
After college,
Bladow was hired
by The Nature
Conservancy
to manage
preserves in
southern Indiana,
including helping
with prescribed
burns, mainly in
oak woodlands.
By 2002, he
had acquired
enough training
and experience
to become a
conservancy burn boss,
allowing him to lead
prescribed fires on their lands.
By 2010, Bladow had met the
rigorous standards required
to become a federally certified
burn boss, the pinnacle of
the position. This level of fire
leadership requires extensive
knowledge of fire behavior
in a wide range of plant
community types, topography
and weather; leadership and
planning skills; and the ability
to maintain one's cool under
pressure.
Bladow began traveling from
Indiana to the Niobrara Valley
Preserve to lead burns, and in
2018, he accepted the position
of prescribed fire coordinator
stationed at the preserve. His
duties now included planning
and leading prescribed burns
on conservancy preserves
throughout the state and
helping other conservation
groups and private
landowners in the northern
Sandhills and Niobrara River
valley plan and conduct
prescribed burns.
"Chad has been great
helping us implement
prescribed fire in north-
central Nebraska," said
Scott Wessel, a Commission
wildlife biologist stationed in
Norfolk. Most ranchers and
other landowners throughout
the state have little or no
experience using prescribed
fire and need leadership and
guidance to get fire on the
ground, Wessel said. "Chad
has a knack for understanding
a landowner's comfort level
with fire, and if they are
uncomfortable, helping them
work through their concerns.
He has that rare balance
of confidence and humility
needed for his job," he said.
To date, Bladow has helped
conduct prescribed burns on
15,000 acres of prairie and
woodland in north-central
Nebraska.
Chad Bladow leads a prescribed burn on the Niobrara Valley Preserve.
CHRIS HELZER, THE NATURE CONSERVANCY
