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2008 Federal Duck Stamp Contest 2008 Federal Duck Stamp Contest Phone: 812-273-0783 |
FIRE MANAGEMENT
Prescribed burning is a major component of grassland habitat management at Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge. Fire is used as a tool to maintain healthy stands of native grasses and eliminate invasive species. Many species dependent on early successional grasslands, such as deer, bobwhite, and grassland birds, benefit from areas maintained by fire.
Burning at Big Oaks NWR is in accordance with a Fire Management Plan. In addition, an annual Prescribed Fire Plan is written for each burn unit to guide our actions each year.
The goals of the prescribed fire program at Big Oaks NWR are to:
* Prevent the re-colonization and reduce the dominance of woody vegetation within existing grassland and early successional areas.
* Re-connect, enlarge and prevent additional fragmentation of remaining grasslands.
* Retire from prescribed burning those isolated grasslands that fragment forested areas.
* Reduce the risk of wildfires.
All fire units are monitored by establishing photo points prior to burning.
Prescribed burning is an essential tool in our habitat management and provides needed information on vegetation response at Big Oaks NWR. One index we use to measure the success of our prescribed fire program is the response of vegetation and population size of Henslow's sparrow to burns from previous years.
| FIRE MANAGEMENT LINKS | ||
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FWS REGION 3 FIRE PROGRAM | |
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NATIONAL INTERAGENCY FIRE CENTER | |
| BIG OAKS FIRE WEATHER LINKS | ||
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THE WEATHER CHANNEL - MADISON, INDIANA | |
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ACCUWEATHER - MADISON, INDIANA | |
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NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE - MADISON, INDIANA | |
