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Prescribed Burns at Modoc NWR Benefit Wildlife

Modoc National Wildlife Refuge - 2005

Migrating waterfowl at Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, south of Alturas, California soon will benefit from the effects of four prescribed burns that took place in February 2005.

Firefighters from Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex assisted by firefighters from Sheldon-Hart National Wildlife Refuge Complex and a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection corrections crew burned nearly 50 acres of vegetation in a combination of fuel types. The burns were conducted in a variety of aspen stands, riparian areas and marsh environments.

With older, dead vegetation out of the way areas were opened to encourage new growth and will provide more habitat for migratory birds.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages public land in every U.S. state and territory, including 547 national wildlife refuges and 69 national fish hatcheries.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages 75 million burnable acres, including 24 million acres of forest/brushland and 4 million acres of grassland.

More than 50% of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands in the continental U.S. (and more than 90% in Alaska) include fire-adapted ecosystems with vegetation dependent on periodic fire.

An average of 500 wildfires burn 260,000 acres each year on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands. The Service also burns about 300,000 acres a year using prescribed fire.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service annual fire program budget is approximately $80 million.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employs more than 530 permanent fire professionals, along with 270 seasonal and temporary fire employees during fire season.

More than 3,000 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees are qualified to assist with wildland fire management on an interagency basis.

The U.S. Fish and Wildland Service Fire Management Program protects more than 700 communities and wildland-urban interface areas.

Historically, an acre was the amount of land tillable by one man behind an ox in one day. This measures 90% of a football field. There are 640 acres in a square mile.

More than 90% of the hazardous fuels reduction by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is completed using prescribed fire.