Montana Landowners Form State's First Prescribed Burn Association

The new group aims to help farmers and ranchers safely coordinate controlled burns and prevent catastrophic wildfires.

Mar. 31, 2026 at 5:04pm

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A high-contrast, brightly colored silkscreen print of a ranching tool like a branding iron or barbed wire fence, repeated in a grid pattern to create a modern pop art representation of the tools and equipment used by Montana's agricultural community.A new association empowers Eastern Montana ranchers to safely coordinate controlled burns and prevent devastating wildfires.Miles City Today

Landowners across Eastern Montana are forming the state's first prescribed burn association, a nonprofit organization that will allow them to safely coordinate controlled burns, share resources, and prevent catastrophic wildfires. The effort is being led by ranchers like Erik Peterson, who have found prescribed burns to be beneficial for their land, as well as the Custer County Fire Department Chief Cory Cheguis, who is assisting in the creation of the association.

Why it matters

Prescribed burns are an important tool for farmers and ranchers in Montana, a state that relies heavily on agriculture as a driving economic force. The new association will empower landowners to conduct controlled burns more self-sufficiently and correctly, helping to prevent the devastating effects of uncontrolled wildfires.

The details

The prescribed burn association is awaiting final steps to receive nonprofit designation before it is finalized. The group will provide landowners with training, bylaws, and rules to allow them to coordinate burns and share equipment without relying as much on local fire departments. While this is a first for Montana, similar associations are common in other agricultural regions of the country.

  • The prescribed burn association is in the final stages of receiving nonprofit status.
  • Rancher Erik Peterson completed a 30-acre prescribed burn on his property on Sunday.

The players

Erik Peterson

A Miles City rancher who has been using prescribed burns to his advantage since taking over his family's ranch around 2005.

Cory Cheguis

The Custer County Fire Department Chief, who is assisting with the creation of the prescribed burn association and estimates his department helps with more than 4,000 acres of prescribed burns each year.

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What they’re saying

“Early on in my life, I knew that fire was a net positive. The immediate effects of it are not that great, but long-term, it is positive.”

— Erik Peterson, Rancher

“Our biggest thing is always to try and assist the landowners, but now we're trying to help the landowners set something up for themselves.”

— Cory Cheguis, Custer County Fire Department Chief

What’s next

The prescribed burn association is awaiting final approval of its nonprofit status before it can be officially launched.

The takeaway

The formation of Montana's first prescribed burn association is an important step in empowering the state's agricultural community to safely and effectively use controlled burns to prevent catastrophic wildfires and improve the health of their land.