Conservation and Management: Prescribed Burns

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Fire is a natural component to the southeastern landscape. Prior to fire suppression and habitat fragmentation, lightning strikes would start fires that would sweep through the forests until the next river drainage. Native Americans also regularly burned forests at different times of the year. Because fires occurred regularly, the fuel load was low, consisting largely of native grasses and herbaceous vegetation which burn quickly and at a relatively low intensity.

Fire is our most important management technique. No other method can produce the same results. It also is cost-effective (matches are cheap). Our forests thrive on fire. By regularly burning the pine-dominated areas, typically every 2-3 years, we stimulate the growth of native plants. As a result, the animals also benefit because they evolved in the same fire-driven ecosystem.

In addition, regular prescribed fire reduces the risk of wildfires. The Trust also maintains fire breaks at the urban-forest interface to minimize the risk of wildfire.

Read more: Spring Island Management Series: Prescribed Burns

Basic Steps to Burning

	Step One: Fuel (diesel and unleaded gas) are mixed for drip torches.
	Step Two: A test fire is lit to see if the wind and fuel are behaving as expected.
	Step Three: A backing fire (i.e., a fire burns that burns against the wind and therefore burns slow) is lit to secure the fire perimeter.
	Step Four: After an adequate burned area is established (Step 3), we may light a head fire (with the wind) which quickly burns through the area.