Burn, baby, burn

Conditions were right yesterday so Mike finally got to burn the field grasses like he has been wanting ever since we bought this place. Burning fields is a common habitat management practice that keeps woody vegetation (trees, brush) from taking over grasslands. Burning will also inhibit the growth of brome grass and stimulate native grasses. The grasses around our house are a mix of brome and native prairie grasses. Brome is a non-native grass that is grown for cattle but is detrimental to game birds because it is too thick, the baby chicks cannot run through it to escape from predators. Native grasses grow in bunches, or clumps, which leaves soil exposed for the birds.

These are native prairie grasses.



In the 3 weeks since moving here we have had rain several times and even some snow so the drought conditions are over, things are not tinderbox dry. The wind was light and in a direction that would push the fire toward the natural firebreak of the driveway, the road and the adjacent corn field. Mike mowed some firebreak paths around the dog fencing (he worked too hard building that fence to let it burn!). With a bic lighter he lit fires in the downwind areas, knowing that the fire would spread in a controlled manner against the wind.



It worked beautifully. The fire spread slowly and thoroughly across the whole target area. The couple of times that it started the wrong direction it was easily snuffed with a shovel. Smoke billowed and blew down the road. The Kickapoo reservation police saw the smoke and paid a visit just to make sure it was an intentional burn and complimented Mike for his good timing, saying that they were late getting their own burning done. By dark the fire had burned out. It will be interesting to watch the regrowth with the improved habitat for the birds.


















It was interesting to watch as several birds of prey began to swoop over the field in search of rodents that may have been pushed out of the grass by the fire.





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