INHF Prescribed Burn

By Kerri on April 15, 2014 in Blog

Last week, our Land Stewardship staff members conducted a prescribed burn at INHF’s Snyder Heritage Farm property. The team burned 10 acres of the property in an attempt to refresh the native prairie and woodland species and eradicate non-natives, like Multiflora Rose and autumn olive. Check out some of their pictures below:

Prescribed fires are one of the best ways to maintain species diversity in prairies and woodlands. A prescribed burn is the intentional ignition of grass, shrub, or woodland “fuels” in accordance with a fire plan. Defined lines are drawn for the fire, which are managed by the prescribed burn crew to ensure that the fire doesn’t spread to undesired locations. The video below shows how a defined area burns relatively quickly:

Exciting, right? It should be noted that INHF staff felt comfortable letting that fire spread because there was an established “black line” on the other side of the woodland where the prairie had already been burned. Once burned, an area of prairie won’t ignite a second time, creating an area of “black” to stop the fire from spreading to unintended areas of the property.

Interested in more information about prescribed fires? Check out our website.