Beginning April 1, and continuing until mid-June, fire crews and specialized equipment from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Leopold Wetland Management District in Portage, Wis., will assemble at Waterfowl Production Areas (WPA) to safely set prescribed fires that will restore and improve wildlife habitat while reducing the risks of wild fires on 25 WPAs in 10 counties across south-central Wisconsin.

Prescribed fire is used by the Service and other land management professionals as an effective tool to improve habitat for wildlife. Fire crews are highly trained, and fires are only used after careful planning and coordination. Weather conditions must also be appropriate, too much wind, moisture or lack of moisture can affect how and when fire is used.

"Prescribed fire is one of the most effective management tools we have to manipulate vegetation," said Steve Lenz, District Manager at Leopold WMD. "The name itself implies benefit is to be gained from carefully planned and implemented fire."

Last year, Leopold’s crews safely burned 1,280 acres on 16 WPAs in nine counties. This year, burns are planned for 25 WPAs in 10 counties: Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Manitowac, Ozaukee, Rock, Sheboygan, Waushara and Winnebago. The WPAs to be burned are open to public recreation, but public use will be restricted during fire operations.

Prescribed fires simulate historic, naturally occurring wildfires, and produce great benefits to native plants and animals. Burning the previous year’s plant matter returns nutrients to the soil, encouraging healthier and more productive plant growth. Fire top-kills woody plants such as willow and oak, causing them to sprout from the base. The resulting shoots provide tender, nutritious browse for animals like white-tailed deer. Fruit-bearing plants (like blueberry) are stressed by fire, signaling them to flower and fruit.

"When people see evidence of prescribed fires on the land this spring, they should remember the benefits this management tool brings to Wisconsin," Lenz said. "It removes accumulated flammable materials reducing the risks of uncontrolled wild fires, enhances habitat for our wildlife and plants, and maintains those beautiful meadow views we enjoy here."

For additional information please call the Leopold Wetland Management District at 608-742-7100, or write W10040 Cascade Mountain Road, Portage, WI, 53901.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 96-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

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