In collaboration with Pheasants Forever and the Monarch Joint Venture
Authored by PF Nebraska State Fire Coordinator Brian Teeter and MJV Midwest Habitat Coordinator Jake Koenig
On August 27th, a habitat tour was held in the Platte River Bluffs outside Linwood, NE. At the tour, we explored the themes surrounding utilizing prescribed fire across different seasons and varying frequency to accomplish ecological objectives. From the effects on wildlife to vegetation to preparation and tips to burning during all these seasons, we spent time looking at these results all on one site. “The host landowner and local Volunteer Fire Department allowed us to burn these different patches on December 11th, 2023; April 20th, 2024; and August 2nd, 2024, to help communicate this message,” said Brian Teeter, Pheasants Forever NE State Fire Coordinator, “which was a unique perspective for those who attended. It’s not often you get to see a single property that has utilized prescribed fire in the fall, spring, and summer time frames in the same year.”
While walking through the property, we were really able to key in and discuss the differences seen on eastern red cedar kill, along with the effects on deciduous trees and shrubs. Another very interesting takeaway to be noted was the different effects seen on grass (cool and warm season) and forb response. “We were also able to note the effects the different burn timings may have on wildlife and other anecdotal wildlife reports/sightings,” said Jake Koenig, MJV Midwest Habitat Coordinator. On the day of the tour, we were able to witness the wildlife using these areas as we saw white-tailed deer, a variety of grassland and woodland bird species, including northern bobwhite quail whistling, and many pollinators, including a couple of monarch butterflies making use of the fresh common milkweed re-sprouts from the growing season burn! Talk about a wildlife magnet.” Although there are complex interactions in nature, and by no means is our work ever perfect, we can ultimately utilize our obtained knowledge to achieve our land management objectives to the best of our ability throughout the year. Of course, a lot of our successes/failures are contingent upon Mother Nature.
Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate, and we were unable to complete a live fire demonstration on the day of the tour. However, even with the morning rain, it turned out to be a beautiful day and we had great attendance, with 61 people on site! These folks had varying backgrounds, from landowners and resource professionals to people from the general public just interested in learning more about fire and its usage as a management practice. Having more time to tour the site since we could not follow through on a live fire demo allowed us to really dive more into site and firebreak preparation, vegetation, and wildlife responses, weather parameters during the fires, as well as many other recommendations when considering each season for burning.
We want to mention a big thank you to all of the sponsors and folks who helped pull this tour off! Those sponsors include the Nebraska Prescribed Fire Council, Farm Service Agency, Nebraska Environmental Trust, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, United States Department of Agriculture: Natural Resource Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Fish & Wildlife, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Monarch Joint Venture, and Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever.
