Prescribed fire as a reasonable land management tool

William Bartram was a naturalist who traveled through the South in the late 1700's. Among his detailed notes was frequent reference to pine stands, the smell of smoke for days, and fire. Natural and man induced fire have been a part of southern forests for centuries. Many of our wildlife species of southern forest, from prime game species such as quail, deer, and turkeys, to many nongame species such as the red-cockaded woodpecker, have evolved with fire, benefit from fire, and their habitat is managed by burning.

Burning of southern woods was partially continued by land managers in the deep south in the 1900's. The objectives were to keep hardwoods from encroaching into pine stands and to manage wildlife habitat. On many plantations when quail season was over the drip torches came out. Clear skies were punctuated by smoke plumes. And the smell of clothes at days' end left little doubt as to what the activity was.

What kind of stands can you burn? Hardwoods, usually not, unless your objective is to control small hardwoods. Their bark is thinner than pines and they are more vulnerable to the heat of fire. Mid rotation and older loblolly pine stands are OK. Even young longleaf stands if done carefully. Also miscellaneous fallow fields or grown up food plots can be cleared by fire.

Here are some guidelines for prescribed burning your forest stands. You can check details on the prescribed fire guide on the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry website. First notify your neighbors and appropriate authorities. You don't want the fire suppression crews showing up, ready for action. Consider where the smoke will go. Downwind smoke over roads, hospitals, etc can be a hazard.

Weather has to be suitable. Usually three to five days after a cold front with rain. You want the ground damp and the fuel dry. The usually range of suitable relative humidity is 30 to 60 percent. This usually is highest around sunrise, and lowest mid afternoon.

Be sure you have good fire breaks. Strips of bare ground that won't burn around your burn area. They can be established with a fire plow, tractor with a disc or with a good gas leaf blower. Using natural features such as streams and roads as much as possible will save you effort.

The usual implement for ignition is a drip torch which allows for slow drip ignition. It is filled with three parts diesel to one part gas.

When everything is set you are ready for action. A back fire usually is set first on the downwind side of your burn area. It will back against the wind, won't go fast, and will extend your down wind fire break. Be sure it doesn't jump your fire break. Then you have a head fire where you don't want it that you have to extinguish quickly. Once you have your downwind side secure you can speed up the burning with side strip fires or head fires that burn faster pushed by the wind.

If you haven't done this before it would probably be best to have an experienced hand to direct the burn. Or you may be able to get assistance from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, or a private vendor. Financial support may be available through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

So consider prescribed fire as a reasonable land management tool. You can accomplish a lot. At the end of the day you smell like diesel and smoke. But you feel like you have accomplished something.

Dr. James G. Dickson-Award winning -author, researcher, wildlife biologist, and professor. Email him at jgdickson14@gmail.com