Workshops show how fire can be tool for landowners

While fire is typically known for its destructive qualities, it can be a useful tool for landowners if managed properly.

The Missouri Department of Conservation will offer two prescribed-fire workshops Thursday at its Cape Girardeau regional office, 2302 County Park Drive. The workshops, from 1 to 4:30 p.m. and from 6 to 9:30 p.m., will teach landowners how the technique can help them manage grasslands, woodlands, glades and old fields.

Prescribed fire is a low-cost and efficient way to manage wildlife habitats, said private lands conservationist Brad Pobst. The improved habitats can provide a safe haven for animals such as quail, turkey and deer in the winter season.

"[Prescribed fire] promotes better habitat and better overhead cover, especially for quail and rabbit, and then also promotes better food source for those types of animals," he said.

The workshops will include classroom discussions on methods, equipment, safety and when fire is the best management tool for land. Pobst said the most important factor in executing a "good, safe burn" is preparation.

"We explain when is the best time to burn, how to burn and what you're looking for from the standpoint of ... the different conditions, like the humidity, wind speed and wind direction, things like that," he said.

Different habitats should be burned at different times, typically in the spring or fall season, for optimal results, Pobst said.

The process takes some work, he admitted, but prescribed fire still is the easiest way to manage habitat. Those who attend one of the Thursday workshops not only will have a chance to learn more about the technique in a classroom setting, but watch the experience for themselves.

The department schedules demonstration burns at a later date and invites workshop attendees to watch an actual burn and see the preparation process. Attendance at the workshop qualifies landowners to have a prescription burn plan prepared for their fields and to use available loan equipment.

To register for one of the workshops, call the conservation department at 290-5730. More information about prescribed fire is available at mdc.mo.gov.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

2302 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO