For
Habitat Restoration
Prescribed burning is a key land management tool that is used to benefit natural resources and reduce the risk of unwanted wildfires. Decades of suppression of naturally occurring fires has caused a rapid disappearance of many plant and wildlife species in the forest and an explosion of invasive species including buckthorn, multiflora rose, and honeysuckle. Trees are stressed by overcrowding, fire-dependent species, such as oak woodlands, red-headed woodpeckers, bees, narrow-leaved purple coneflowers, and jack pines, are disappearing, and flammable fuels are building up and becoming hazardous. The solution involves carefully reintroducing fire to the landscape. Prescribed burning reduces hazardous fuels, protecting our communities from extreme fires; minimizes the spread of pest insects and disease; and removes unwanted species that threaten species native to an ecosystem.
For
Lush Vegetation
Historical ecology tells us that the success of native species and their habitat is dependent on regular disturbance. Indigenous peoples used fire in prairies and other grasslands to encourage new plant growth and lure bison and other game for hunting. Since prescribed burning recycles nutrients back to the soil it supports the regeneration of oak and hickory, the dominant trees of the Midwest.
