Controlled Burning Story in the Columbia Missourian News-link included.

This is a first for my eyes and want to share this story in the local news about using fire to manage land. It's great to see this ancient practice being re-ignited and embraced by more and more people.

Thanks to writer Bryan Chou for the well researched article.

https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/state_news/with-fire-missourians-help-each-other-bring-wildlife-back-to-their-land/article_57d6f69c-cc71-11ef-a672-b71534251fac.html

The article focuses on burning for wildlife.

Here's an up-coming webinar providing results from a study on how frequent burning increases the abundance & diversity of wildlife...https://oakfirescience.com/events/webinar-the-influence-of-management-practice-on-the-snakes-in-forest-food-webs/?

Burning helps to restore ecology in many ecosystems. The transformative effects of a burn can be detected decades later. Burning is often used to move stagnant ecosystems back into productivity. The stagnancy is a health issue that increases risks for health outbreaks and overall poor health. The stagnancy is actually a result of no longer burning a system that developed with frequent burning. Burning is a necessary component of ecosystem restoration. Without burning we can't restore much of the historic ecology.

Not all burns are the same.

The burning I advocate is a mild-intensity burn that slowly advances and puts itself out in certain areas. This preserves some of the leaf litter and humic acid, bolstering recovery and good health. Mild intensity burning preserves many seeds that are in the seed-bank. It preserves many soil biota that would otherwise be cooked with a hot intensity fire. The results are fantastic! The biological response is usually balanced and not dominated by a single plant like fireweed, who arrives after hot intensity fires to take advantage of the stressed out ecosystem.

I also don't recommend burning after February as the dormant trees are waking up and becoming more vulnerable to heat stress. Some insects & wildlife are laying eggs & nursing young in March. Late season burns are more difficult to recover from as they put more stress on the biology.

There's a lot of nuance when it comes to burning. It can be overwhelming at first. With each burn we grow new experience and over time burning becomes easier. If you need help getting started give me a holler.