Tuesday, Feb 28, 2006
Prescribed Burns Planned for Ecological Management at Ozark
Van Buren, MO ?Superintendent Noel Poe announces that in accordance with its approved Fire Management Plan, the National Park Service will be conducting spring prescribed burning beginning in February and continuing until April. The planned burns are designed to meet management goals for glade and savanna/woodland restoration, to promote native vegetation, and to reduce hazardous fuels within the Riverways.
Weather permitting, the park will implement six separate prescribed burns, totaling 3,095 acres. The Macy Reed burn of 30 acres will take place about a mile south of Blue Spring on the Current River. The Chilton Creek burn unit is located on Z Highway south of Van Buren and totals 1,200 acres. The 70 acre Partney burn unit is also on Z Highway about five miles south of Van Buren. The Russell Mountain (340 acres) and Stegall Mountain (1,015 acres) prescribed burn units are located near Rocky Falls. The Stegall Mountain burn will be conducted jointly with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC). Finally, the Winding Stairs burn unit is in the same general area as the Russell and Stegall Mountain units, and will be accomplished in partnership with MDC and The Nature Conservancy.
Prescribed fire is an important resource management tool used to maintain the native grasses and open savanna forest that were historically established through regular and recurring fire. Native Americans routinely burned in this area, and occasional lightning-caused prairie fires swept into southern Missouri. Managed fire promotes healthy stands of shortleaf pine, oak, and other fire-adapted species. Some of these species actually depend upon fire if they are to remain a healthy part of the unique glade ecosystems found in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways.
For more information on the park?s burning plans and policies, contact the Fire Management Officer Bobby Bloodworth at (573) 323-4236, ext. 252.
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