Prescribed Fire and White-Tailed Deer

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White-tail deer are very unique animals that live in many different climates and ecosystems. They rely on most of the natural resources in woodland and grassland environments. These different environments can be manipulated greatly by the use of fire. Since deer are very important in the people best interest economically with the sport of hunting generating billions of dollars a year in the U.S., it is up to the people to help maintain the environment in which they live. Performing prescribed burns can increase food and cover availability along with many other advantages.
Prescribed Fire
Prescribed fire is a controlled burn of an area done by a team of experienced or educated people in a grassland or forested area. This type of burn is intended to help the health of plant and animal species and restore them to their native state. When certain areas that need to be burned so often do not get burned, they can be a hazard to the ecosystem in which it presides. A forest can get over grown and thick which will create more fuel for a wildfire that can destroy a forest community. In grassland a controlled burn, or prescribed burn, can help eliminate invasive species that can take over grasslands that are harmful to the more desirable plants. This type of fire can be seen as harmful and a disaster by many people, but it has great benefits on the areas in which it is done.
A prescribed burn is typically performed in an area surrounded by several land breaks that will not burn. These areas include; roads, already burned areas, fire lines, rivers, streams, and many other low fuel areas. When an area needs to be burned the team will map it out, distinguish proper fire lines, and plan the fire direction and intensity. The people performing...

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... them with more abundant and more nutrition vegetation as well as cover and shelter. It seems that the benefit and need for fire in certain environments is very important. So this leaves people to ask the question, “Why don’t we increase the use of prescribed fire?”

Works Cited

Cantu, Lorie Woodward. "Controlled Burn: Environmental Effects of Prescribed Burning." Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Center. Texas A&M University-Kingsville, n.d. Web. 20 Nov 2013. .
"Restoration Activities Controlled Burns." Savanna Oak Foundation, Inc.. N.p.. Web. 20 Nov 2013. .
Saunders, D.A.. "White-tailed Deer." ESF Adirondack Ecological Center. State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Web. 20 Nov 2013.

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