K-12 Education

The Mid-Missouri Prescribed Burn Association in cooperation with SD NRCS and SDSU Extension hosted two eastern red cedar tree control workshops entitled “Grass or Cedar: Time to Choose” on March 3^rd in Mitchell and March 5^th in Yankton. The Yankton workshop was recorded.  The workshop is split into six separate sessions and available on Youtube at:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlldDb7IZYqIc80uMFNOSlJwKcQN87XoM. You will find an overview of the cedar tree encroachment problem in South Dakota along the James River and Missouri River valleys, a discussion of non-burning methods of control, an introduction to prescribed burning methods, and a discussion of technical assistance and available NRCS cost share programs.  

Abstract: Fire created and maintains grassland ecosystems around the world, with the pattern and processes in these systems maintained by fire driven grazing – an ecological process called pyric herbivory.  Pyric herbivory creates a patchwork of habitat types across space and time at local, regional, and continental scales, with each patch in a different state of post fire and grazing recovery. This diverse and shifting mosaic of habitat is what native wildlife in grassland ecosystems evolved with, and most wildlife species in these systems depend on more than one type of habitat to complete their life cycles.

For more information: Here