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2008 Federal Duck Stamp Contest
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Improving Habitat
Prescribed burns rejuvenate the prairie. They cleanse it of accumulated, dead vegetation and stimulate fresh growth. Native grasses and wildflowers, which evolved with fire, benefit from nutrients returned to the soil during a burn. They produce more seeds and re-grow in greater abundance. Non-native plants and woody vegetation, on the other hand, are deterred by the flames. In addition to maintaining existing prairie, regular burning helps restore prairie to old pastures, hay fields, and crop lands.
Fire benefits grassland-nesting songbirds by reducing predator populations and improving nesting habitat. Species such as bobolink, grasshopper sparrow, Sprague’s pipit, and Baird’s sparrow have declined in recent years. Fire removes the vegetative “litter” that provides shelter for mice, voles, ground squirrels, and shrews. These small mammals prey on songbird eggs and chicks. Following a fire, prairie plants are more robust and diverse, providing better nesting sites for the birds.
