The Keys pine rocklands is a globally endagered natural community that depends on regular cycles of fire. In the Keys, rapid urban development and fire suppression during the last 30 years have limited the occurrence of natural fires across its pine rocklands. Without the regular application of prescribed fire to the pine rocklands landscape, the threat of wildfire increases, and native species suffer. Since 1994, the Conservancy has collaborated with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to help them manage the pine rocklands community within the National Key Deer Refuge. Saw palmettos benefit from prescribed fire.
Green shoots sprout up after a prescribed burn.