Fort McCoy personnel complete 2021’s first prescribed burns

The 2021 prescribed burn season at Fort McCoy continued March 18 with dozens more acres completed, said Charles Mentzel, Fort McCoy forester with the Directorate of Public Works (DPW) who coordinates the prescribed burn program with the Directorate of Emergency Services (DES) Fire Department.

The burns are completed with a large team of personnel, Mentzel said. This includes personnel with the DES Fire Department; DPW Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch; Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; and the Colorado State University Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands, under contract with the post.

The March 18 prescribed burn took place along miles of railroad track on South Post at Fort McCoy, Mentzel said. The prescribed burn team was able to clear dry, dead grass from along the railway. The team had already completed a previous prescribed burn along the South Post railway earlier in the year.

“The majority of fires this spring so far have been fuel-reduction burns,” Mentzel said. “This keeps the grass from catching on fire from range use or sparks from passing trains.

“And we are just getting started,” Mentzel said. “We are roughly about 25 percent done. … We have all of the North Post ranges and impact area to complete yet. We have done 10 acres of ‘ecosystem’ burns. Hopefully the weather in the next five weeks cooperates, and we can burn another 10 to 12 days. We have burned five days so far this year through March 18.”

Prescribed burns improve wildlife habitat, control invasive plant species, restore and maintain native plant communities, and reduce wildfire potential, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The U.S. Forest Service also states that prescribed burns reduce hazardous fuels and protect human communities from extreme fires. The burns also minimize the spread of pest insects and disease; removes unwanted species that threaten species native to an ecosystem; provides forage for game; improves habitat for threatened and endangered species; recycles nutrients back to the soil; and promotes the growth of trees, wildflowers, and other plants.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also described the importance of prescribed burns.

“The use of prescribed fire is widely accepted as a primary tool for habitat restoration and management,” states the prescribed burn description at https://www.fws.gov/invasives/staffTrainingModule/methods/burning/introduction.html. “The effectiveness of fire as an invasive plant management tool depends upon a wide range of variables and is specific to each situation and species. Prescribed fires are typically most beneficial when they mimic natural fire patterns in ecosystems that evolved with fire as a natural disturbance.

“Prescribed burns benefit the environment many ways and are one of the tools we can use on a large scale to improve our wild habitat,” Mentzel said.

Mentzel said the burns also raze small trees and shrubs and make them grow again from the stump. “This allows for more food for deer and other animals and removes unwanted (tree) species from the understory, such as white pines growing underneath an oak forest.”

Prescribed burns are announced on the installation by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office through the post’s official Facebook page and through postwide email traffic.