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Goals of the Fire Program | Commonly Asked Questions
Photo Points | Prescribed Fire Slide Show
News Release (54 KB Adobe pdf file)
WHO – The Windom Wetland Management District conducts a series of prescribed burns each year as part of a habitat management program. Burns are performed by staff trained and certified in wildland firefighting. County dispatch and state natural resource offices are informed of the burn. Nearby landowners are also notified prior to ignition.
WHAT – A prescribed burn is a managed fire conducted under a special set of guidelines for weather and safety, called a prescription, designed prior to the burn.
WHEN – Most burning is done in April and May on days when conditions meet the prescription set for a safe burn. Occasionally, fall burns are performed. Humidity level, wind speed, wind direction, temperature and smoke conditions are among factors that must be correct for the burn to occur.
WHERE – Every year several Waterfowl Production Areas (WPAs) are selected for burning. Many units are bordered by either mowed breaks, creeks, agricultural fields or roads that enable the fire to be contained.
HOW – The burn unit is ignited by hand using a drip torch. Trucks and All-Terrain-Vehicles with pumper units are on site to control the fire.
WHY – Fire removes dry, dead plant matter that has built up over the years, opening up space for new growth and providing better cover and food for wildlife. The burn allows plant nutrients to be returned to the soil to be used again.
Service employees conduct a prescribed burn
on the Timber Lake Waterfowl Production Area
Goals of the Fire Program
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Native Prairie Restoration: Many of the existing and new WPAs have remnant native prairies. Most of these areas were heavily grazed and have strong competition from introduced cool season grasses such as brome, timothy, and Kentucky bluegrass. Fire helps to retard the cool season grasses and promote the native grasses and forbs, improving the natives' competitive advantage.
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Native Prairie Seed Production: In addition to promoting native species over introduced species, fire also helps by increasing seed production and viability of native grass and forb seeds.
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Native Grassland Development: Prairie reconstructions are helped by fire in several ways. Viable seed is harvested in the fall on native prairie sites that were burned the previous spring. Once established, burning the newly developed prairie will help promote the native plants, stimulate new species to germinate, and give managers the opportunity to control invasive species such as Canada Thistle and sweet clover.
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Woody Plant Encroachment Reduction: Fires help prevent unwanted woody species from invading the prairie. Prairie developed with fire and kept the trees and brush away. The goal of our program is to maintain open grassland areas.
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Hazardous Fuels Reduction: As is the case in many parts of the United States, urban areas are expanding in the Windom District. Many times our WPAs are developed near existing farmsteads, homes, or even towns. Often, restored wetlands and prairies attract people to build near a WPA. The consequence is having fuels next to homes and barns. By burning regularly in these areas we reduce the risk of wildfires burning private property.
Native prairie several weeks after a prescribed burn
Commonly Asked Questions
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How does the fire help the ecosystem?
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Through habitat management programs, such as prescribed burning, the Windom Wetland Management District is restoring the ecosystem that existed in this area prior to European settlement. The native plants and wildlife are adapted to fire and depend on periodic burning for their continued existence.
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How do plants survive a fire?
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Many plants in the oak savanna, wetland, and prairie habitats managed by the wetland management district have evolved with fire. Their adaptations allow them to survive a burn and continue to grow.
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What happens to the wildlife?
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Most animals remain very calm during a fire. Many ground dwelling animals find shelter by burrowing under a log or staying in an underground burrow. Animals that run and birds which fly usually leave the area ahead of the fire. Few animals are unable to escape the fire.
The improved habitat that results from the use of prescribed burning is a benefit to wildlife. Burning creates thicker, younger cover and also increases food availability by stimulating seed production.
Some ground nests are destroyed by fire. However, pheasants and ducks respond to nest loss by renesting. Predators typically destroy 70-80% of pheasant and duck nests. These birds maintain viable populations only because they can successfully renest. Pheasants have been documented to renest up to four times a season. Nests destroyed by fire are usually replaced through renesting.
Habitat improved by a prescribed burn provides better nesting cover and attracts ground nesting birds. It also provides improved brood rearing habitat for pheasants by increasing the amount and variety of food available for the chicks.
