If ideal weather conditions occur, as many as 37,000 acres on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge and approximately 1,900 acres on Pea are proposed for burning this season between November and April.
The proposed burn units at Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge include a mix of marsh, pocosin, and field burns. An approved burn plan is required for each burn unit. This plan outlines burn objectives, weather and environmental requirements, a smoke management plan, and a list of resources necessary to successfully conduct the burn.
The grasslands and marshes found at Pea National Wildlife Refuge also experience a build-up of plants that can shade out new plants and increase the intensity of wildfires. Winter or dormant season burning allows for the reduction of hazardous fuels from both refuges. The term ?hazardous fuels? refers not only to the build-up of dead plant matter, like pine needles and fallen tree limbs, but also to volatile live fuels like gallberry and fetterbush - shrubs that contain chemicals in their leaves that make them burn intensely. Prescribed burns remove the surface growth of live shrubs which often sprout back from their roots, providing fresh and nutritious browse for wildlife. Removing fuel build-up from the soil surface also makes room for new seedlings to grow in the spring.
Areas scheduled for burning on both refuges remain open to the public for authorized public uses. Closure will occur only during the actual prescribed burn prescribed burn
A prescribed burn is the controlled use of fire to restore wildlife habitat, reduce wildfire risk, or achieve other habitat management goals. We have been using prescribed burn techniques to improve species habitat since the 1930s.
Learn more about prescribed burn , which could be any time between now and April, as weather permits. Please call ahead (252-473-1131) if you plan to hunt any of these areas. When in the field on either refuge, be aware of the potential for a prescribed fire. To ask questions or provide comments about prescribed burning on Alligator River and Pea National Wildlife Refuges, send an email to alligatorriver@fws.gov or call 252-473-1131.
To learn more about Alligator River and Pea NWRs visit http://fire.r9.fws.gov/"> .
