I try to burn every third year, in thirds or close proximity. If for some reason I do t get it burned or it just isn't gonna carry a fire I will mow it. A few really rough or swampy areas I will let go till a logger gets interested or I run a dozer thru it.
Thats something I didn't think about, future burning. My property is all mature hardwoods with the exception of two small food plots. One is an acre, and the other is two acres.
It's not as bad as you think. Next time we do one, you're more than welcome to come hang out and watch. We did a 4 acre section in 1h annd 13m and a 7 acre section Thursday in 1h 20m. After a few burns, it becomes second nature
When you're working with slopes so steep you have to crawl up them on your hands and knees, the upslope wind created by a fire can be pretty intimidating. I've seen trickling fires turn into raging infernos in a matter of minutes.
We back it down til it finds fuel too wet to carry in those spots
I've seen slow fires backing into the wind suddenly flare back up the slope because the upslope wind increased fire temperature until suddenly fuel not consumable by a "cool" fire becomes consumable by a hot fire.
I've got hardwood SMZs running up into my pine stands and we both blew in breaks AND blew fuel out from around the hardwoods…especially those we wanted to keep. I know there are fire-adapted hardwood species but many of those are from a bygone era when folks ran fire through'em frequently (think savanna). I'd be worried frequent fire thru a hardwood stand might cause problems (based on the current dominant species)…especially if it got too hot.
Your worry is well placed. Frequent burns will damage most hardwood stands. Trees with previous damage of any kind near the soil line will be harmed more deeply. Burns in hardwood stands are more about wildlife and not at all about timber. BUT log a place out, wait 3 years and burn out the trash is just good all around. Blowing out around good timber is a good practice but time consuming too. You will still catch a root on fire from time to time that ends up at the base of a big oak or poplar.
Looks good Quailman. What county? Hunted IL for about 40 years in Kankakee and Iroquois county. Also hunted southern IL. Burned thousands of acres in IL assisting IL DNR and IL TNC. Worked for IN DNR for 10 years and wildland fire trained so burned thousands of acres there also and assisted IN TNC burning. Have not hunted IL or IN in five years but need to find a place to hunt (deer and turkey) cause I have the lifetime license in both states.
We hunt down in the SE part of the state, and I've owned a farm down there for just over 20 years. Bought it when I actually lived in Southern Indiana around Stendal, where I worked as a biologist and regional director for Quail Unlimited.
