In his classic book, “Game Management,” Aldo Leopold listed four tools used by wildlife managers; the cow, the plow, the axe and fire. While the cow may still be used in parts of the western United States to manage rangeland, it has been replaced in the eastern half of the country by the bush hog. The plow is still used today, although tractors have replaced the mules and horses that pull them. The axe is still around, but modern foresters now use mechanical tree cutters and chainsaws to harvest timber. The use and look of fire is still the same. All of these tools are used for one purpose, to set back plant succession and regenerate new grasses, plants, bushes and trees.
The Native Americans learned how useful fire could be for clearing underbrush, opening pasture lands, providing nutrition-rich forage for deer, elk and bison and to promote growth in the forests. Historians today refer to this as “cultural burning.” They knew that fire would clear the grass and brush for villages and camp areas. The fire would remove the food source of the rats and mice, thus controlling the rodent populations. Rodents would have to go elsewhere for seed, and when you control the rodent population, you also reduce the snake population.
They also learned that burning pastures and open clearings in the forests would regenerate new plant growth that would attract the game animals they depended on for food and hides. Fire would also clear their travel routes across the landscape. Fire was used to clear areas for farming and growing crops such as corn. Fire would clear the thick brush in the forests, burning up the limb and leaf litter debris and would help promote the growth of the fruit and nut trees they depended on.
Managing fires
Louisiana experienced many wildfires in 2023 due to the extreme drought, high heat and plenty of debris fuel on the ground. The worst fire was the Tiger Island Fire that burned over 50,000 acres. Generally though, our mild weather and regular rainfall reduces the number of wildfires that annually occur. In East Feliciana Parish, where I live, our volunteer and professional fire crews are quick to respond to fires and get them under control. It is important that these agencies receive adequate funding for this work.
Prescribed burning is still used by foresters and wildlife managers. For example, the Sandy Hollow Wildlife Management Area depends on prescribed burning to keep that habitat in suitable condition for quail and other ground-nesting birds. Prescribed burning can occur in the fall and winter, the time when much of the vegetation is in a dormant condition. These fires are referred to as dormant season burns. Prescribed burning is also done in the spring. These fires are called growing season burns.
Most forest landowners have a consulting forester to help them with their timber management needs. Prescribed burning is very important for pine management. There is some burning done on hardwood sites, but these fires must be carefully managed so they don’t create problems for the oaks and other hardwoods.
Call in the experts
I recently met with Mike Thomas, a retired state forester and now a forest consultant, at a site that was being burned. Thomas is also a certified prescribed burner. Certification is done through the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF) and the certified burner must renew his certification every five years. Of course, a landowner can burn his own forest and pasture lands without being a certified burner, but he will be libel for any damage should the fire get out of control.
Thomas recommends that a forest landowner work with a licensed forester or certified burner. These foresters know to contact LDAF and the local fire agencies prior to burning. They also know when conditions are best for prescribed burning. The consulting forester would know when the forest needs burning; for landowners interested in deer, the pine stands are burned every 3-5 years to open up the forest and create new growth of nutrition-rich plants.
These burners pay attention to the weather conditions, wind speed, humidity and ground moisture. Fire lines are created around the burn site using dozers with fire plows, bulldozers or tractors with plows or discs. These fire lines are used to keep the fire contained in the area and from jumping to an adjacent forest stand. They will even use leaf blowers to help remove the leaf litter in these lanes.
As stated earlier, the prescribed fire will set back plant succession, enhance the growth of new plants and provide quality forage for deer and turkey.
Resources available
George Bunch is a friend and landowner in East Feliciana Parish. He owns 220 acres that his dad acquired in 1968. It was pasture land for cattle but the cattle are gone, and other than a large pasture for his horses it is now forest land. In 2013, he planted about 40 acres of longleaf pine. He did this because a longleaf forest is good habitat for turkeys and quail, and his family enjoys hunting the toms!
Much of our national forest land in Louisiana has been restored with longleaf pine. This habitat greatly benefits from prescribed burning. The forester that Bunch works with has his stand on a 2 year rotation. During the second year after the fire, Bunch will bushhog lanes through the longleaf plantation to allow for foraging by turkey hens and poults. Poults need insects, and these cut lanes provide access to the bugs.
While Bunch is not a certified burner, he has attended prescribed burning workshops and has a good understanding of the process. Forest landowners should investigate the information available from the LSU Extension Service concerning timber management and prescribed burning. Bunch, Thomas and I are members of the Feliciana Forestry Association. This association provides workshops and seminars for landowners about timber management, prescribed burning and wildlife. There are other forest associations in the state, so be sure to check out their websites.
Another source of information is the state association, the Louisiana Forestry Association. They also can provide forest landowners with information about forest management and prescribed burning, in addition to putting you in contact with the local forest association or a licensed forester.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service has cost share programs for landowners to help with prescribed burning. This state is a timber producing state and there are plenty of resources out there for landowners. I encourage you to take advantage of them.
