The Importance of Prescribed Burning

Earlier this year, the Florida Park Service reached a landmark – the burning of its one millionth acre under its fire management program. On average, more than 33,000 acres of state park lands are burned each year, either through prescribed burning, naturally occurring fires or a combination of both.

“Florida State Park staff and volunteers have dedicated countless hours to prescribed burning efforts for decades,” said Florida Park Service Director Mike Bullock. “Their hard work has preserved wildlife habitats and native vegetation while decreasing the risk of wildfire throughout the state.”

Dating back to the early 1970s, Florida was conducting controlled burns. However, the accompanying smoke was problematic to highway travelers and in urban and metropolitan areas, and the lawsuits associated with the burnings resulted in fewer prescribed burns occurring. Without proper burning, living and dead debris such as leaves and pine needles are fuels that can cause a wildfire to burn out of control.

In 1990, the Florida Legislature passed the Florida Prescribed Burning Act which defined important standards for prescribed burning and reduced the liability for burners who were properly certified and abided by the new and existing regulations.

Prescribed burns, appropriately conducted, are one of the most successful tools available in reducing potential wildfire damage and improving ecosystems. By burning underbrush, small shrubs and low-lying foliage, naturally occurring wildfires have less chance of spreading and damaging valuable public lands.

Through careful planning, burning also promotes regrowth and improves ecosystems and wildlife habitat. Mimicking nature, prescribed burns help to increase fruit and nut productivity relied upon by many threatened and endangered wildlife species while helping to control certain pest problems such as ticks and red bugs.

With nearly 700,000 acres comprising Florida’s award-winning state park system, managing the State’s public lands, wildlife habitats and native plant species through controlled burns is very much a necessity to maintaining valuable recreational outlets for Florida’s residents and visitors alike to enjoy.