| | Prescribed Fire
Prescribed fire, or the controlled application of fire to the land with the goal of accomplishing specific management goals, is one of the most versatile and cost effective tools for forest management. Not only is fire used for thinning thick understory forests, but is also is used to reduce hazardous fuel buildups, thus providing increased protection to people, their homes and the forest. Other uses include disease control, improving habitat for wildlife, ecosystem diversity, preservation of endangered plant and animal species and the maintenance of fire dependent ecosystems. Lack of fire on the landscape in the past decades has led to critical habitat loss and an increase in catastrophic wildfires.
For example, the development and dominance of the longleaf pine ecosystem in the southeastern United States depends on fire for regeneration. History shows that longleaf pine once covered 90 million acres in the South but currently includes less than three million acres. The suppression of fire in the southeast has caused regeneration of longleaf pine to be eliminated and replaced by other pines and hardwoods. The loss of native longleaf pine has had perhaps the greatest impact on the imperiled gopher tortoise, a tortoise dependent on an open canopy and herbaceous understory. For more information on AFF’s work with the gopher tortoise please visit, www.forestfoundation.org/ccs_partnerships.html
The Center for Conservation Solutions’ Prescribed Fire focus area develops and implements partnerships that strengthen and improve family forest owners’ ability to use prescribed fire to conserve forest ecosystems. The prescribed fire focus area aims to enable family forest owners to use fire as a safe and effective management tool. Our focus includes working with state and local partners to educate both family forest owners and policymakers about the critical importance of prescribed burns on the forested landscape. The program will work closely with state Prescribed Fire Councils as well as the newly formed National Coalition of Prescribed Fire Councils.
The prescribed fire focus area is led by Emilie Cooper. If you have any questions, or would like to work with AFF on our prescribed fire initiative, please contact Emilie at ecooper@forestfoundation.org, or (202) 463-2431.
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