U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Prescribed Burning

A firefighter conducting a prescribed burn in grasslands

Historically wildland fires were common in a variety of ecosystems.  Over many centuries, wildland fire has influenced the life cycles of plants and plant communities.  Many plants are adapted to fire and some are even dependent on fire for seed germination and growth.  From the bare ground, plants sprout and grow to maturity until the next fire comes along to begin the cycle anew.  Along this cycle, diverse plant and animal communities compete, rise and fall as succession moves toward climax or final vegetation community.

Without the influence of fire, many habitats and ecosystems stagnate.  Plants and animals that need different habitats for their life cycle would disappear.  Fire is the key that starts the cycle of change moving again. The renewed supply of nutrients and light produces new vegetative growth that represents forage and cover for wildlife.  Reintroducing fire helps restore ecosystem health and function in fire-adapted ecosystems where fire processes have been absent or suppressed.

Prescribed fire is a valuable management tool.  Applied at appropriate times and places, prescribed fire can enhance and promote recovery and sustainability of desirable fire-dependent species and habitat.  Even as the smoke clears, plants sprout in the ashes of fertile soils. Prescribed fire is a carefully planned and managed fire.  It is conducted only under predetermined conditions to ensure the desired results are achieved.  Prescribed fire requires oversight by experienced personnel, plus a good working relationship with neighbors and the local fire departments.

Each national wildlife refuge has a specific management focus and its own unique Fire Management Plan that reflects its own mixture of fuels, wildlife and plant communities. Generally updated every 5+ years, the Fire Management Plan defines the long-range purpose, objectives, and strategies of a refuge’s prescribed burning and wildfire suppression programs. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs trained specialists whose jobs are to use fire as a management tool to enhance or restore wildlife habitats and plant communities while reducing hazardous fuel loads before they can cause damaging wildfires.

Refuge firefighters ignite grass with a driptorch and a fusee

A Refuge is divided into management units, many of which receive prescribed burns.  An individual prescribed burn unit has it’s own Prescribed Fire Plan that is developed prior to the unit being burned.  The Prescribed Fire Plan, also known as a prescription, describes the plants, animals, and physical characteristics of the unit. It details the resource objectives, ignition methods, weather parameters, smoke management procedures, public notification, specialized protective equipment and firefighting resources needed to burn the unit. When conducting prescribed burning, firefighter safety comes first.

Examples of some resource objectives that might be included in a Prescribed Fire Plan are:

• Reduction of hazardous fuels.
• Recycling nutrients back to the soil.
• Improve wildlife distribution.
• Create disturbance to promote early successional species for food and/or shelter.

Prescribed fires are carefully planned to burn under the right conditions (fuel moisture, temperature, humidity, season, and wind) to produce the desired results whether it be fuel reduction, removal of unwanted plant species, promotion of desired species or stimulating new growth.

The proper use of a prescribed fire can:

• Reduce fuel buildup – The accumulation of dead wood, grasses, twigs, and leaves on the ground increases the chances for devastating fires.  Prescribed fire can enhance defensible space and add greater protection to areas subject to high-intensity wildland fire.
• Encourage a diversity of plants needed by wildlife – wildlife needs a variety of plants for food and habitat.
• Enhance growth – Some plants require heat to release seeds.  Prescribed fire helps nature’s cycle in the absence of wildfire.
• Return the nutrients in dead foliage to the soil, where they work with light and water to produce a new generation of plants.  The fire can also expose parts of the soil providing a place for seeds to germinate.

In the absence of fire, fuels (twigs, branches, and dead grasses) would over-accumulate, setting the stage for a potentially catastrophic wildfire.  It can take many years to restore the soil and plant communities after an extreme wildfire.  Should a wildfire follow a prescribed burn, the damage is often much less and the fire can be easier to control as there are less fuels available. 

Ignition methods used for starting prescribed fires include:
Driptorch	Fusee	Ping-Pong Balls

Rangelands are naturally diverse where species composition and productivity are highly variable.  A greater mix of plant communities supports a more diverse animal community.  Through the proper use of prescribed fire, fuels can be maintained at safe levels, and the ecosystem can be managed in a diverse, healthy, and vigorous state.  Prescribed fire, in conjunction with fire prevention planning, can work together to prevent loss in developed rural areas.

In summary, prescribed fire is a primary management tool of all refuges located in Oklahoma and northern Texas. For more prescribed fire information specific to your neighboring refuge, contact the Refuge headquarters.