MPFC Policy and Best Practices
Transparency is very important to us as a fire council. Below find our current policies, by-laws, and strategic plan.
Prescribed Fire in Michigan —
Best Management Practices
MPFC Anti-Discrimination and harassment Policy
MPFC 2024-2029 Strategic Plan
MPFC By-Laws
Click here to download a PDF of our By-Laws
Article I
Goals, Objectives, and Strategies
Section 1: The Mission of the Michigan Prescribed Fire Council is to protect, conserve and expand the use of prescribed fire on the Michigan landscapes by:
Supporting current and future prescribed fire practitioners by connecting agencies, organizations, and individuals for collaboration, education, and resource sharing to meet land management needs safely and responsibly.
Promoting managing for ecosystems and the reduction of hazardous fuel through the use of prescribed fire to protect people, lands, and infrastructure from increasing risks of wildfire due to climate change.
Promoting safe and effective use of prescribed fire.
Sharing research, resources, and training opportunities to support prescribed fire practitioners’ growth and experience in the field.
Building a community and supporting networking groups between agencies, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s), universities, students, private landowners, volunteers, and all people interested in prescribed fire.
Providing efficient public outreach about the importance of prescribed fire in the landscape historically and today.
Section 2: Goals, objectives, and strategies of the Michigan Prescribed Fire Council will be reviewed by the council on 5-10 year intervals and will be outlined and formally housed within the MPFC strategic plan.
Section 3: At the time a new strategic plan is adopted, these bylaws immediately reflect the changes to the plan after the strategic plan is approved by a vote of the MPFC steering committee.
ARTICLE II
Participation
Section 1. Participation shall be open to any agency, organization, corporation, institution, or individual that uses or promotes prescribed fire as a land management tool.
Section 2. A Steering Committee is established to guide the organization and to develop position statements and coordinate meetings. The committee is composed of a diverse representation from nonprofits, contractors, academia, joint fire science consortia, and state and federal agencies. A full list of participating organizations is available on our website, firecouncil.org.
Section 3. The Steering Committee will share information, provide updates and gain input from the council.
ARTICLE III
Officers
Section 1. The officers of the council shall be the Chair, Vice-chair, Secretary, and Treasurer, who will be members and determined by the Steering Committee.
Section 2. The term of office for the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer will be for one year. The term of office for the Vice-chair will be one year, followed by a one year term as Chair. Officers may be re-elected for consecutive terms.
Section 3. The Chair shall preside at all meetings and see that all resolutions approved by the Steering Committee are acted upon.
Section 4. The Chair may appoint Committees from the representatives as needed.
Section 5. In the event that the Chair must be absent from a meeting, the Vice-chair will serve as Chair.
Section 6. The Secretary shall see that the minutes of each meeting are kept and that a copy is provided to each representative soon after the meeting.
Section 7. The Chair may authorize the issuance of position statements and public notices after approval of the Steering Committee.
Section 8. The Steering Committee acts on behalf of the council.
Section 9. The Chair, or Vice Chair in his stead, and Treasurer will have the authority to approve disbursement of council funds.
Section 10. The Treasurer will report to the Steering Committee quarterly on the state of the council’s finances. A biannual internal audit of the council’s finances will be overseen by all officers, excluding the Treasurer.
Section 11. Protocol for resignation/retraction – Board members requesting resignation are encouraged to find an interim replacement for their position. Any supplies, MPFC gear, notes or organizational documents should be turned over to the administrator/secretary.
ARTICLE IV
Meetings
Section 1. At least one Council meeting and two Steering Committee meetings will be held annually.
Section 2. Written notices of Steering Committee meetings shall be provided to representatives prior to all such meetings. Notice of Steering Committee meetings will include a meeting agenda.
Section 3. To pass a vote, a minimum of five votes from meeting attendees must be gathered, either in person of via phone. If a quorum in unavailable, the council may be contacted via electronic means (e-mail, text, e-poll) to reach quorum. Electronic voting will have a minimum of one week of discussion prior to the tallying of votes.
Section 4. Members may recuse themselves from a vote for any reason.
Section 5. The result of a vote will be reflected in the minutes of the meeting in which they occur.
ARTICLE V
Rules Pertaining to Bylaws
Section 1. By-law amendments will be proposed one meeting in advance, and then voted on at the subsequent meeting.
Section 2. Voting on by-laws will follow the guidelines established in Article IV, Sec. 3.
ARTICLE VI
Training and Certification
In order for the Michigan Prescribed Fire Council to support training opportunities to individuals in wildland fire certification, the following standards must be met before the Fire Council will recognize and support the training.
Section 1: All classes must be submitted to the Training and Certification task group for approval at least 8 weeks prior to the start of the class, and the following information must be included:
Who the lead instructor will be and the dates of the training.
What organization will be hosting the training and where it will be taking place, including field exercise areas.
Courses are to follow the Fire Council’s fee schedule; any deviation from this schedule must have approval of the Training and Certification Chairperson of the Fire Council.
Lead and Unit instructors must meet current NWCG standards, and instructors must be NWCG certified unless they are adjunct instructors brought in to teach specific, technical material (i.e. NWS personnel teaching weather in S290).
MPFC Training disclaimer: Participation in training provided by MPFC will be documented by a "Certificate of Completion." A MPFC certificate confirms participation and does not expressly or implicitly warrant the skills or capability of the individual to perform prescribed fire or related practices. The individual will only engage in prescribed fire under the auspices of an agency authority, a corporation or as a private land owner at a level appropriate to their skill level and project completion.
These conditions shall be considered minimum for fire council endorsement and any associated support of classes, publicity of said classes on the Fire Council website, and other networking where available.
