Prescribed burning?

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Boll Weevil

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Anyone else doing any prescribed burning lately or have plans upcoming?

We lit the farm up the last 3 days in a row and I'm just always amazed at the changes a place can go through in such a short amount of time. From a thick mat of debris on the forest floor, to skillet black, to lush green w/little wildflowers and all sorts of healthy stuff in just a few weeks.
 
I have an EQIP funding request pending to burn our pines that were recently thinned. I'm looking forward to it. Have you seen a wildlife response to the burning?
 
treefarmer said:
Have you seen a wildlife response to the burning?
Click to expand...
I honestly think it may even be preferred to other popular choices like food plots, minerals, supplemental feed, etc. With a little rain/warm weather, burned areas start producing tons of good native forage for wildlife almost overnight. After a year or 2 it often makes incredible bedding/nesting habitat.

Consider this: without the fire there's nothing in there but leaf/needle litter, sticks, twigs, pine cones, low value browse that they don't want anyway etc. Burn it though and deer will eat the new growth, turkeys and quail will bug/feed in it (and eventually nest) and rabbits will use it if close to escape cover.

Effective, very low 1-time + recurring costs, and manageable provided you have the equipment and people to help. I frequently burn hedgerows, around the edges of fields (into the woods a little piece), open hardwoods, and planted pines.

Burned areas can be absolute critter magnets and anyone that tells you it'll run your deer/turkeys off is nuts. 4 does walked straight toward the fireline and within 70 yards of me Saturday afternoon...curious about the smoke. And if you've never killed a gobbler with sooty, black feet...well...you should try it sometime. :cool:
 
I would love to burn some fields... My farm is straight up and down though... is there anyone who I can call to burn it, that knows what they are doing?
 
We burned our farm for several years. The first year I was afraid we'd messed up doing that. But I was wrong! The hunting including the turkey hunting that season was better then ever. Like Boll Weevil said, we had deer everywhere around during and after the fires. Also it helps a lot when looking for sheds.
 
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Agreed,Id burn in a heartbeat with some help.Ill even help do a burn for the experience,as a matter of fact,Id rather do that several times.I wish we could get together about 10 guys and help burn each other's properties that they want.Id also love to buy some equipment but don't know where to.I think burning is a highly underutilized management tool.How can we put together a group??
 
TWRA private lands biologists can help but most are already booked up pretty good for the coming spring. Their biggest challenge is manpower, and most would welcome the help. Call them, they may still be able to squeeze you in.

Also, TN Division of Forestry will burn for around $22/acre. Cheap, especially compared to a food plot, and you can sow your firebreaks to clover when you're done. Call your local county forester.

http://www.tn.gov/twra/habitatmgmt.html
http://www.tn.gov/agriculture/forestry/directory.shtml
 
Call me crazy (or maybe I've just lit places up enough over the years to be considered the clinical definition of a pyromaniac :whistle:) but educate yourself and crew on the what when and how...you can do it too. It will take time and training though.

Talk to your forestry department, work a couple of burns, go to a clinic, read, read, read, and chat with firefighters from rural departments that do this all the time. Invite them out for a small burn if you have to...take the time to learn from someone who knows what the heck they're doing. Don't bite off more than you can chew, make sure you have a solid burn plan, and giddy up.

Not trying AT ALL to oversimplify the process because frankly, playing with fire is plum crazy. On the other hand this was a way of life in the recent past...generations of farmers and land managers used fire to great benefit. Over time though it's been a lost skill, folks watch Cali wildfires on CNN, and no one does it anymore. Learn before you burn (and even AS you burn because conditions can change during the day).

We grew up burning so learned by observation and following instructions from the grown folks. The old timers did this every year and could read conditions like the Saturday Evening Post. If it wasn't right they just put us to work doing something else.

Backpack leaf blowers, tank sprayers, drip torches, shovels, rakes, chainsaws, radios, and those little handheld anemometers for monitoring temp, humidity, and wind speed. Disk or doze your breaks in and wait on the right conditions. Call in your burn permit and follow the recommendation and/or caution from the professionals (forestry dept). They know way more than we do; trust it.

Learn how different fuels are consumed (leaves, grass, needles, wood). Know what to expect with sloping terrain (head fires can absolutely RACE up a slope and a 4 inch flame at the bottom can quickly turn into a 4 foot flame faster than you can bat an eyelash). Shade can suppress heat and fuel consumption while sun enhances it. Smoldering embers are not out...smoldering = burning.

It's doable just take your time and if something don't seem right wait on a better time. If EVER in doubt...don't.
 
If you foresee yourself using much fire, attend the TN Prescribed Fire Manager training. You will learn the principles behind fire, but you still need some hands-on before setting the world ablaze.

Remember this- You own your fire, and you own your smoke. You can be held liable for their damages. Under a new state law, if you have gone through the fire manager training, the plaintiff must prove that you were negligent to be held liable for damages.

Burn with an experienced, certified burner, always have a written burn plan, and always follow the burn plan. Fire is a tool, just like a chainsaw or tractor, and will kill you just as quickly if used carelessly.
 
diamond hunter said:
He said in all his years of having that job he has NEVER set fire to a set of woods for habitat improvement.
Click to expand...
Just a thought, but from a forester's perspective fire is typically being applied to reduce fuel load, remove undesirable competition, manage wildfire/arson risk, site prep, etc. The kicker is that burning for each of those reasons still benefits wildlife habitat.

In their mind it may be about the timber while in your mind it might be about the habitat...but burning delivers positive outcomes for both. Of course I'm sure there's rules regarding their burn services and maybe habitat improvement doesn't qualify.
 

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