2027 Student Burn Week: A Learn & Burn
The 2027 Student Burn Week: A Learn & Burn event is scheduled for January 3rd-9th around the Alexandria, Louisiana area and will be an immersive, hands-on prescribed fire experience focused on student learning in fire management while expanding networking opportunities for students from across the U.S. Participants will engage in all aspects of prescribed fire, including burn planning, ignition techniques, monitoring and evaluation, while learning how fire ecology, wildlife communities and fire management come together in practice.
Please note that this year's event is a pilot and will be kept small to assess the layout and dynamics. A faculty/staff nominator is required; we will only be reviewing up to 2 applications from each university (if your university has a SAFE Chapter, please work with that faculty/staff advisor). If you're not selected for this pilot year, you will be put on a priority list for the following year if there are opportunities available. If you are a National SAFE Member and travel costs are an inhibiting factor, please check with your local student officers and/or advisor on the availability of using Annual National SAFE grant funds to assist you.
The hosting organizations WILL NOT be covering medical insurance for participants and will require a liability waiver for people participating in this training.
Food and Lodging will be provided onsite from 1/3/27 to 1/9/27.
Participants will be responsible for paying for and coordinating their own flights/transportation. There will be a shuttle to pick people up from the Alexandria International Airport (AEX) airport at 11:30 and 17:30 on January 3rd and to drop people off at 10:00 on January 9th.
Applications will close on September 30th, 2026. Applicants will be notified of selection by the end of October.
If you would like to assist with organizing this event, please email us with your interest in joining the Student Fireline Project as a collaborator.
Sponsors
Thank you to the incredible support from our financial sponsors listed below. If you or your organization is interested in financially supporting this upcoming event, please email us.
American Forest Management Inc.
Boise Cascade
Crosby Land and Resources, LLC
Crowell Forest Resources, LLC
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Louisiana Forestry Association
Louisiana Society of American Foresters
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center
Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation
Louisiana Wildlife Federation
Rapides Wildlife Association
RAVEN Environmental Services, Inc.
RES
The Nature Conservancy of Louisiana
Meet the Instructors
Alyssa Broussard
Alyssa has been a Wildlife Biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for 5 years. She works on WMAs and private lands in southwest Louisiana, and she completed her prescribed burn manager certification about a year ago. She earned her master’s and bachelor’s degrees at McNeese State University where she makes an effort to stay connected and provide opportunities for students to get some hands-on experience in this exciting career field. Alyssa is looking forward to this event where she can share her prescribed burning knowledge as well as continue to learn from others.
Cliff Dailey
Cliff has worked for the Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries for 18 years. He currently supervises operations on six wildlife management areas in the central part of the state. Designing and carrying out habitat improvement projects is his passion. Cliff is grateful to be included in the Student Burn Week alongside such skilled professionals in his field.
Chris Doffitt
Photo and Bio Coming Soon
Brian Early
Photo and Bio Coming Soon
Ben Holten
Ben has been employed at LDWF for almost 14 years. He has always worked in the private lands section. He actively works with college students and volunteers to get them exposed to our career field. This is one of his favorite parts of his job, mentoring students and future natural resource managers. Lastly, Ben has a Class A CDL driver’s license and has graduated from heavy equipment operators school, which gives him a unique perspective when equipment is needed on fires.
Hannah Cauley-March
Hannah has worked as a biologist for Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries for three years, primarily focusing on plants and natural communities. Many of Louisiana’s unique ecosystems are fire-adapted communities that depend on periodic prescribed burning for healthy ecosystem functions. Through her work with fire-adapted plants and natural communities, she has grown a strong appreciation for prescribed burning and its role in natural community management. Hannah is excited to share this knowledge and help others learn how to utilize prescribed fire for natural community management.
Hannah Lincecum
Hannah is a private lands biologist for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. She graduated from Louisiana State University at Alexandria in 2024. Throughout college, she was a student worker for LDWF and gained necessary hands on experience to better prepare for her career. She is excited to assist other college students in gaining hands on experience that will be useful in their future careers.
Kevin Mundorff
Kevin is a Senior Project Manager and Lead Prescribed Burn Manager with Raven Environmental Services, Inc., bringing nearly 30 years of experience in prescribed fire management across Texas and Louisiana. He has planned, managed, and safely executed hundreds of prescribed burns across more than 75,000 acres, specializing in understory fuel reduction, wildfire mitigation, invasive vegetation management, and habitat restoration. Kevin is a Certified Commercial & Insured Prescribed Burn Manager (CIPBM) in both Texas and Louisiana and has led complex burn operations for state, federal, nonprofit, and private land management organizations. He holds a Master of Science degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.
Ally Pourciau
Photo and Bio Coming Soon
Ronnie Rutt
Ronnie is the Fire Program Manager at the Louisiana Ecological Forestry Center at the former Hodges Gardens in Sabine Parish, Louisiana, where he has worked for over three years. He holds a Louisiana Prescribed Burn Manager Certification and has participated in over 70 prescribed burns covering more than 5,000 acres. Ronnie looks forward to sharing his experience with the next generation of fire practitioners and learning from the experience of others.
Nathan Yeldell
Nathan joined LDWF 10 years ago to assist private landowners with wildlife habitat management. He had the pleasure of helping many landowners join a local Prescribed Burn Association and put good fire on the ground. The results have been overwhelmingly positive and Nathan hopes to continue rebuilding the culture of responsible fire use and land stewardship.