Prescribed Burning - Experience?

[HB_Hunter]

Does anyone have experience doing prescribed burning?

I listened to a podcast on the subject and the guest made a very good case for it. I've also watched several episodes of growing deer tv where Grant Woods uses it to manage habitat on his property.

My main goal is to keep 20 - 40 acre blocks of timber in early successional growth. The timber was cut about three years ago and the poplar and locusts are coming back pretty thick in areas. Running fire through seems to be the best way to manage this. I will definitely reach out to my wildlife biologist and the state forester for advice. I'm sure they will help me find experienced people to help.

I'm looking for input from people who have had experience with this.

 

[George]

I think that I'm qualified to speak on this matter.

G

 

[E_308]

I do some every year, one of the best management tools. I would definitely recommend some training because it is more than just striking a match.

 

[Kwood]

Accidentally burnt 40 acres last year. Was trying to burn 2. Be careful!!


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[George]

HB, this was the start of my 2015 timber burn season. The channel is George Shepherd, I have several 2015 vids.

G

 

[buckdeer1]

Lots of stuff to learn on burns.Some timber benefits more than others.Iuf you don't have mostly hardwoods you want to keep if can damage alot of trees around the bases.
Always notify FD prior or see what you must do first
Watch the humidity
Watch the wind
Be prepared in case one sprayer quits
Very little reason to not know wind changes with the internet now days.
No reason to take risk.We have had aleast 2 people killed in the last few years doing control burns of grass.
Make sure you have liability insurance on your land.I have seen cedars go for 600.00 each and new fences built because control burns burned up neighbors.

 

[HB_Hunter]

HB, this was the start of my 2015 timber burn season. The channel is George Shepherd, I have several 2015 vids.

G

I'll check that out Geo. Thanks! Can't believe I forgot about your timber burning. Flick the bic .


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[HB_Hunter]

Lots of stuff to learn on burns.Some timber benefits more than others.Iuf you don't have mostly hardwoods you want to keep if can damage alot of trees around the bases.
Always notify FD prior or see what you must do first
Watch the humidity
Watch the wind
Be prepared in case one sprayer quits
Very little reason to not know wind changes with the internet now days.
No reason to take risk.We have had aleast 2 people killed in the last few years doing control burns of grass.
Make sure you have liability insurance on your land.I have seen cedars go for 600.00 each and new fences built because control burns burned up neighbors.

Thanks buckdeer. I'll talk to the FD for sure and discuss it with my neighbors. I'm planning to get some professional help with it.

 

[HB_Hunter]

Here's a picture I took yesterday that gives a general idea of what is coming up in some of the spots (briars/locust). These were ridges that had mature timber on them. You can see a white oak stump in the picture.

 

[THE LLC]

We do it all the time. Different times of year depending on what we are trying to accomplish---clearing, cleanup, or killing brush. Nothing knocks hardwood saplings in the head like a late April hot burn just as new buds are opening.

 

[Longleaf]

Like THE LLC, I do it quite a bit. What strikes me about the picture you posted is there does not appear to be a lot of fuel that will carry a fire. Those leaves will burn but they don't carry fire like dead grass or pine needles will. Not saying it won't burn, but you will want to get conditions that will make good use of the fuel you do have. Understand you can also scorch the soil by burning too hot which is not going to do you any long term benefits either.
If you are planning to get control of those hardwoods with fire alone, understand it will be a multi-year process. What you really want to happen is to build up enough grass in there to carry a good flame. Of course you aren't going to get grass in there with the canopy closing above it, so it will be a process. The way to shorten the process is with herbicide.
How big is the area you are working with?

 

[THE LLC]

Time of year and moisture content dictates how well fire will carry. You can burn well in much more humid conditions with such fuels as pine needles and dead grass than you can with leaves.

 

[buckdeer1]

If fire load is light you might be able to use blower to help but I almost looks like something other than hardwoods there but can't tell for sure

 

[HB_Hunter]

Thanks for the input guys. There isn't much on the ground to carry the fire here. This part was cut hard about three years ago. The ridge pictured was mainly mature oaks and all them were taken. Not much in the way of big timber here to put lots of leaves on the ground. Two of the ridges are like this. I might try to get my tractor in there and bushhog it after cutting out the locusts. I'll just hack my way through the briars .

The area to burn is about 80 acres or so. I'm planning to break it up into 10-20 acre sections when I burn. I'll take a closer look at it this weekend when I don't have the kids with me.


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[dogghr]

Id get someone from your state forestry dept to take a look and make suggestions. This is the problem of heavy timber of mast trees in the East. The deer browse the new growth of good trees, i.e., oak, maple, etc, and leave the scrub crap like locust and MFR or GB or worse. I'm not sure a burn will give what you really are wanting. I agree, of the burns I've watched , I don't think there is enough fuel to give a good burn and leave you with just the same trash you don't want. Be interesting.

 

[Longleaf]

You say early successional habitat, but what do you want it to look like and what plants do you want in there as a "final product"?

 

[HB_Hunter]

You say early successional habitat, but what do you want it to look like and what plants do you want in there as a "final product"?

That is a great question. My first reaction is anything other than briars and locusts. The picture is of the area that has the least timber regen. I need to take a closer look to see what is coming back there.

I guess briars might be the first step in early succession. I'd like to burn it and see what comes back. Likely more briars and locusts. I probably should bush hog what I can and cut the rest by hand. Plant some shrubs and maybe frost seed some clover.

 

[HB_Hunter]

Id get someone from your state forestry dept to take a look and make suggestions. This is the problem of heavy timber of mast trees in the East. The deer browse the new growth of good trees, i.e., oak, maple, etc, and leave the scrub crap like locust and MFR or GB or worse. I'm not sure a burn will give what you really are wanting. I agree, of the burns I've watched , I don't think there is enough fuel to give a good burn and leave you with just the same trash you don't want. Be interesting.

I had a forester and a wildlife biologist out two years ago to put a plan together for me. I had planned to plant a bunch of hardwoods. They saw lots of oak regen and suggested I give it five years and then come back and cut/kill the junk trees. They both thought it would be a waste of time to plant trees. I'm just a little impatient. I probably should take their advice and give it two more years before I do anything drastic .

 

[buckdeer1]

I saw a saying once,planting trees in the timber only produces sweat

 

[Longleaf]

The briers are good. From the picture it looks like that is mostly blackberry. The young growth on the briers is a good quality browse and if you poke around in there you will likely find evidence of it being browsed. Blackberry and a lot of other briers respond well to being burned.

I don't have any experience with controlling locust. I assume you are talking about black locust and not honey locust? I would suspect it is going to be tough to deal with unless you go ahead and jump on it with some herbicide because it is going to sprout from the roots similar to the way sweetgum does.

If you are wanting to plant shrubs or trees, forget about using that area as a burn unit for the time being. If you want clover in there, get it cleared and make a food plot. If you want briers, ragweed, partridge pea, native grasses, etc. that is where fire comes into play.