The Catoosa Wildlife Management Area staff will utilize prescribed fire as a management tool at several locations throughout March.
Residents living close to the management area should expect to see and smell smoke, especially near Otter Creek Road and Myatt Creek Road.
Prescribed fire differs from wildfire and has been used as a tool for centuries. Precise parameters must be met before the use of prescribed fire including air temperature, humidity, ground moisture and windspeed.
Additionally, prescribed fires are overseen by prescribed burn managers who receive training and certification. Burn patterns and containment paths are set prior to fires.
Prescribed burns increase overall health and diversity of habitats and reduce dead, brushy areas that when not removed, can lead to more severe wildfires.
Late winter is one of the common times for prescribed fires, and it has been utilized on the WMA and countless public and private lands across the state for decades.
“Prescribed fire is useful in lessening invasive species and promoting native plants and wildlife on the landscape,” said WMA Manager Don Chance. “This form of management is safe, effective and less costly than other forms.”
Go to tinyurl.com/TNPrescribedFire for more about prescribed fire.