Great Plains Published

Braids of Truth: “Introduction”

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The “Braids of Truth” video series resulted from a meeting that occurred in June 2010 between tribal leaders, scientists, resource managers, and academics. The goal was to integrate traditional Native American stewardship with current scientific knowledge to find ways to manage land while preserving culture and natural resources.

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Season of Grass: Northern Mixed Grass Prairie

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Our northern mixed grass prairie video was taken at Ft. Keogh, Montana. The Agricultural Research Service research station hosted the camera in 2015. 2015 was a drought year so the plant productivity was less than normal.

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Season of Grass: The Prairie Rejuvenated after a Prescribed Burn

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You asked for it! We heard you ask for a photo series that captures the recovery of tallgrass prairie after a burn. We now have time lapse videos of the tallgrass and northern mixed grass prairies showing changes to the plant communities post-burn.

The tallgrass video was taken over the course of a year at a Kansas State University Prairie in the Flint Hills (Rannells pasture near Manhattan, Kansas). The burn occurred in the spring and the camera was raised as the plants grew.

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Panhandle Wildfires: Fire on the Prairie

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Months of drought and driving winds contributed to raging wildfires that destroyed almost half a million acres of the Texas Panhandle in March 2006. Thanks to timely rains in the year after the fire, the land is well on the way to recovery. See how the people, the land and the wildlife have been affected by this unprecedented disaster. (this segment can be seen on the Texas Parks & Wildlife television show the week of July 24-31, 2011 on the Texas PBS stations)

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Fire In the Great Plains Series: A Community Approach to Fire

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This video is the fourth in a series describing fire in the Great Plains. The series features ranchers in the region and local experts discussing prescribed fire. This video focuses on the value of working with neighbors and prescribed fire associations to complete burns on private lands.

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Fire In the Great Plains Series: Challenges to Using Fire

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This video is the third in a series describing fire in the Great Plains. The series features ranchers in the region and local experts discussing prescribed fire. This video focuses on challenges land owners face when using prescribed fire. Ranchers talk about how they overcome those challenges.

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Fire In the Great Plains Series: Getting Started

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This video is the second in a series describing fire in the Great Plains. The series features ranchers in the region and local experts discussing prescribed fire. This video focuses on how to get started using prescribed fire. Learning how to burn can be a daunting proposition, but making use of landowner resources and local expertise can make the process easier.

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Fire In the Great Plains Series: Why Burn?

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This video is the first in a series describing fire in the Great Plains. The series features ranchers in the region and local experts discussing prescribed fire. This video focuses on the need for burning grasslands in the region.

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Understanding Fire Behavior in the Wildland/Urban Interface

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This video on fire behavior discusses structural vs. wildland fire operations, methods of heat transfer, fuel types and effects, weather, topography and how it effects wildland fire, and extreme fire behavior. Find out more at: https://www.firewise.org/

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Prescribed Fire Associations

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A Prescribed Fire Association is a group of landowners and other concerned citizens that form a partnership to conduct prescribed burns. Prescribed burning is the key land management tool used to restore and maintain native plant communities to their former diversity and productivity for livestock production and wildlife habitat. Native prairies, shrublands, and forests supply the majority of livestock forage and 99.9 percent of the wildlife habitat in Oklahoma. Without fire, native plant communities become dysfunctional and unproductive. Research has clearly shown that there is no substitute for fire. Oklahoma’s ecosystems are fire dependent and not burning is poor land management.

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