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Re: burn safety

Regarding Fall Burns - I tried it once and decided to not do it again.  I
killed too many lizards and toads for my comfort.  After almost a decade of
burning on my property I have decided that there is only a very small window
of time that I am comfortable burning.  I burn in Texas so my schedule is
different from people in other areas.  I wait until it has been cold long
enough to ensure that the lizards and toads are well hidden and the plants
are dormant.  I must also burn before the plants with winter rosettes are
too big and before the rabbits are nesting.  I have found rabbit nests at
the surface of the soil buried deep in grass.  (Actually, my dogs found the
nests.  I used to think that they nested in burrows.  I guess some do.) 
These 2 constraints limit me to a burn window of about 4 weeks.

Then, I choose to wait until the soil has been wet by a good rain.  It may
be dry down here for months and burning on top of a drought doesn't sound
too good to me.  So, I then need to wait about 5 days for the foliage to dry
up.  But, I must coordinate the moisture conditions of the soil, vegetation,
and atmosphere with the wind speed and direction.  I must have a very
controlled burn as I might end up in jail if I burn my neighbors property. 
So, I never burn without the correct weather conditions.  During the month
when I'm planning to burn I keep up with the weather reports and am aware of
the movements of all the continental fronts.  I don't want any shifts at
mid-burn.  I want a whole day of good, safe weather.   These conditions
occur about 5 times a winter.  Now my burn window decreases from one month
to 5 days.  But since I have to go to work, I have to let some of those days
go by.  It's tough to go to work when you need to say home and burn. 
Finally, the conditions all occur on a day off work and I go for it.

I do rotational burns on my property so there is always some cover available
for any animals that lose their homes (or need to escape my dogs).  After a
burn the birds start to work the site almost immediately. This is a good
time for the birds because my property is under a migration route.  Also,
burning is not just a winter activity.  All year I manage for the safety of
the next burn by clearing and maintaining fire breaks. Also, my vision has
changed.  When I look at the land I not only see the current vegetation, I
also see fuel, its type and distribution.  Knowing your land is a joy and
burning with the knowledge of the life within the land merges my mind with
the land.  Is that the land ethic?       
   
----------
>From: "PrairieSource.com" <jef@prairiesource.com>
>To: <prairie@mallorn.com>
>Subject: Re: burn safety
>Date: Mon, Apr 17, 2000, 11:51 AM
>

>The key to fall burning is not to burn too much. Actually the key to
>responsible burning when regarding habitat is to only burn a portion each
>year and burn on a rotational basis. Three years seems to be a good
>rotation, however your conditions and challenges will dicatate what your
>burn rotation should be.
>
>Jef Hodges
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Joan Lane <jml@prairienet.org>
>To: <prairie@mallorn.com>
>Sent: Monday, April 17, 2000 9:41 AM
>Subject: Re: burn safety
>
>
>>
>> A point about burns....we grew up with our praire burns..  As the praire
>> grew and the fires got bigger and hotter, so grew our experience.
>> Established praire fires are awesome things but remember that you have a
>> new plot and it  will not   burn like that for several years.  These are
>> good years to acquire  skills by helping out professionals with their
>> burns.  A tool that I would really recommend geting is a fire flapper.
>>
>> Also....I have decided not to do fall burns because of the habitat that I
>> destroy.  So many critters use the tall grasses over the winter months
>> that I just can't bring myself to burn it till spring.  In the spring
>after
>> we burn, the hawks and owls are flying low over the site swooping up
>goodies.
>>
>> Joan
>> At 09:57 PM 4/12/00 -0400, you wrote:
>> >James,
>> >
>> >Point well taken.  Thanks.
>> >
>> >Carmen
>> >"Never underestimate the power of denial."  Ricky in American Beauty
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