Distinguished by shallow, rocky, dry soil conditions, glades support many species adapted to a desert-like existence, including prickly pear cacti, scorpions, tarantulas, collared lizards and the Missouri bladderpod, a plant restricted to the Ozarks. Bluestem, Indian grass and Indian paintbrush are three of the plant species common to both prairies and glades. Both natural communities need periodic fire to keep trees from establishing themselves and to rejuvenate native plants. In 1996, The Conservation Department conducted 451 prescribed fires on 23,594 acres of public prairies and glades and 38 burns on 1,823 acres of private land. Fire kills invasive trees and shrubs, and the ash fertilizes the soil and absorbs warmth from spring sunlight, speeding the emergence of prairie plants.
Managers monitor wind and humidity levels, place fire lanes and set backfires.
They time the burns to protect prairie animals during their breeding seasons. The Conservation Department uses prescribed burns to rejuvenate this 600-acre glade. Fire stimulates the diversity of glade-loving plants by clearing the overstory and allowing more sunlight to strike the soil. Because 97 percent of the remaining birds inhabit private property, the prairie-chicken's future in the state rests in the hands of landowners. The Conservation Department, in cooperation with the University of Missouri, has initiated a program to offer prairie owners management assistance and to purchase quality prairie remnants from willing sellers.