Page 44 - 2023MayJun

Renewal Emerges Like Phoenix After Flames
Biologists Use Prescribed Fire To Enhance Habitat for Endangered
Red-cockaded Woodpecker
By Jena Donnell, Communication and Education Specialist
RENEWAL EMERGES LIKE

PHOENIX AFTER FLAMES

BIOLOGISTS USE PRESCRIBED FIRE TO ENHANCE HABITAT FOR

ENDANGERED RED-COCKADED WOODPECKER

JENA DONNELL/ODWC

Wildlife Biologist Clay Barnes uses a drip torch to start a By Jena Donnell, Communication and Education Specialist
prescribed fire on the McCurtain County Wilderness Area
in southeastern Oklahoma. “It’s so much easier to use fire than to fight fire.”
Fire torch in hand, Wildlife Department biologist Clay Barnes sets off
down a steep slope of the McCurtain County Wilderness Area, igniting
one edge of a 4,352-acre prepared burn unit as he goes.
“Today, we’re using fire to improve wildlife habitat,” Barnes said. “The
ground will be black for a few weeks, but it won’t take long for native
grasses and wildflowers to start coming up through the black. Prescribed
fire helps keep those grasses and wildflowers in the forest’s understory

42 OUTDOOR OKLAHOMA