Last year, we conducted six fires on the refuge for a total of 421 acres. It was also a hands-on, educational opportunity for these young men and women from the Job Corps. Prescribed fires are NOT wild fires. However, anyone seeing a column of smoke rising in the distance over the marsh should contact local authorities immediately, and they will confirm if it is a prescribed fire. If it is not a prescribed fire, the refuge manager will be notified and the fire crew dispatched to put the fire out.
Prescribed fires are a vital wildlife management tool.
By recycling nutrients and eliminating woody plants and exotic weeds, they help restore ecologically degraded fields and meadows to native prairie plant species. In addition, some prairie plants cannot germinate unless exposed to the extreme heat of fire. The diversity of prairie plants encourages and supports a greater diversity of wildlife species to seek food and shelter and thrive. Controlled fires also help open areas of the marsh choked by dense cattail growth to provided better quality habitat for a diversity of wildlife. A Fish and Wildlife Service file photo of staff conducting a prescribed burn is available.