Great Plains Published
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.
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/
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.
This fact sheet from Oklahoma State University describes the use of firebreaks in prescribed burning.
This fact sheet describes a variety of plants that can be used in fire-resistant landscaping.
This document provides an overview of the use of prescribed fire in grassland management. It describes the history and importance of fire in grasslands, plant responses to fire, and potential benefits of fire. Fire planning, safety, and legal concerns are summarized. In addition, guidance on special uses of fire is provided.
Tobosagrass is a productive, but coarse and generally unpalatable grass. Distribution extends from western Texas through southern New Mexico to southeastern Arizona and north-central Mexico. An important characteristic of tobosagrass is perennial stems; these stems and the unpalatable nature of tobosagrass ensure that large quantities of standing dead grass accumulate. This manual describes management practices for tobosagrass rangeland.
A new fact sheet for managing sand sagebrush in rangeland is available from Oklahoma State University. There is a nice section about fire; take a look.
This fact sheet describes the use of patch burn grazing (PBG) to alter fuel structure and continuity. Burning in this manner has the potential to slow the spread of fire, thus decreasing wildfire risk.
2013-20
If you are considering burning rangeland for the first time, you may think that a detailed planning process seems largely unnecessary. You may be thinking:
“I’ll wait until after frost and burn out the southwest 40 acres of the back pasture. If I burn when there’s no wind, I won’t need any help. I can drive the cows to the other side of the Section Pasture and shoot a gun a few times to scare out the deer so they won’t burn up. And the belly-high broomweeds should burn hot enough to kill most of the mesquite, whitebrush, and prickly pear.”
Wait a minute—this thinking contains at least eight misconceptions, including those dealing with timing, wind, help, fuel, expected brush kill, grazing management, the size of the burn, and its impact on wildlife habitat. If you burned using this plan, you would probably never burn rangeland again on purpose because of the risks taken and the potential for disappointing results.
Effective planning well in advance is vital for achieving the beneficial effects of a prescribed burn. The elements of a plan are described in Extension publication E-37, Prescribed Range Burning in Texas, which is available from your county Extension agent or on the web at http://agrilifebookstore.org.
This publication from Texas A&M Agrilife Extension contains more information and a checklist to use when planning a prescribed burn.