Prescribed Fire and White-Tailed Deer

1812 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of wildfires example outline

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...

... middle of paper ...

... 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.

Show More
Related

  • How Controlled Burns Improve Forestry

    1703 Words  | 4 Pages

    Thousands upon thousands of acres are lost in forest fires every year. We always hear about the dramatic losses caused by forest fires and are often concerned by them. There are so many horrible effects from fires and most of them affect so many people. Studies have shown that out of all of the different methods to decrease fire damage, prescribed burns are the most affective. Many people would argue that they are not as affective because they cause so many health problems. Although that is a very important view and may seem valid, those health issues are not as extreme as one might think. People should look at the majority of the benefits form prescribed burns and they will see how affective and important they are. Prevention is the key to society these days and is definitely an important factor in saving lives. If more lives can be saved as well as land and wildlife, prescribed burns may be the better way to go about forest fires. Although, prescribed burns are better for the environment in order to prevent drastic forest fires, severe damage to timber and extreme death of wildlife; some people feel it affects the health of a firefighter too much and it causes too many long term effects.

    Read More

  • Deer In Wesselman Woods

    244 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are too many deer in the Wesselman Woods. The deer have eaten all the flowers and other flora. There have also been 8 car crashes involving deer, this imposes a dangerous threat to the civilians of Evansville. The deer have been invading people’s yards and eating their gardens. The deer are causing many problems that can’t be solved until the deer population is reduced.

    Read More

  • The History Of White-tailed Deer In Kentucky

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    amount of game allowed to kill. Today we have an abundance of deer in Kentucky,

    Read More

  • Physics of Wildland Firefighting

    2906 Words  | 6 Pages

    Policies regarding the handling of wildland fires continue to change and evolve as new information is learned each fire season. Attitudes have changed between complete wildland fire suppression to no suppression at all. We now seem to have reached a balance between the two schools of thought and fall somewhere in the middle.

    Read More

  • White Tailed Deer

    422 Words  | 1 Pages

    White tailed deer are the largest game animal in North America. This is due to their over abundance and annoyance to farmers. An average of 300000 deer are hunted down each year. A tragedy has been another 3000 are hit by cars every year. Many human efforts have been made to prevent these accidents, such as fencing and deer repellents near freeways, but many seem to think that hunting and controlling the population is the best way.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Deer Hunting

    1590 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the last decade, from the Rockies to New England and the Deep South, rural and suburban areas have been beset by white-tailed deer gnawing shrubbery and crops, spreading disease and causing hundreds of thousands of auto wrecks. But the deer problem has proved even more profound, biologists say. Fast-multiplying herds are altering the ecology of forests, stripping them of native vegetation and eliminating niches for other wildlife. ' 'I don 't want to paint deer as Eastern devils, ' ' said Dr. McShea, a wildlife biologist associated with the National Zoo in Washington, ' 'but this is indicative of what happens when an ecosystem is out of whack. ' ' The damage is worse than anyone expected, he and other scientists say. Higher deer densities have affected growth, survival, and reproduction of many plant species which have aesthetic, economic or ecological value. In some cases, many species of trees have also been shown to have reduced growth as a result of high deer density (Environmental Benefits of Hunting, 1). Deer prefer certain plant species over others and frequently feed on economically valuable tree species. For example, they prefer oak and sugar maple seedlings, as well as acorns, over less palatable species like American Beech and striped maple. Thus, less marketable species are more likely to survive to maturity,

    Read More

  • Effects Of Deer Overpopulation

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    Deer overpopulation is a controversial topic. Some believe that deer overpopulation is not a real problem. Some may also believe the high numbers that studies show, is a scheme to give hunters an excuse to hunt without reason. The truth is that deer overpopulation is a true issue. Deer, especially the eastern whitetail deer population in these modern times, is out of control. “There are an estimated 30 million whitetail deer in the United States today. Under optimal conditions, whitetail deer populations will double every two years”(Rooney). As the numbers of whitetail deer rise, the land for them to live on decreases. This may lead to deer walking on roads and causing accidents.

    Read More

  • Healthy Forest Initiative: Is it really healthy?

    1462 Words  | 3 Pages

    As people of the twenty-first century, we are all too familiar with the frequent occurrence of wildfires in our nation’s forests. Each year millions of acres of woodlands are destroyed in brutal scorches. It has been estimated that 190 million acres of rangelands in the United States are highly susceptible to catastrophic fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). About a third of these high-risk forests are located in California (www.sfgate.com). These uncontrollable blazes not only consume our beautiful forests but also the wildlife, our homes and often the lives of those who fight the wildfires. The frequency of these devastating fires has been increasing over the years. In fact, in the years 2000 and 2002, it has been reported that the United States has faced its worst two years in fifty years for mass destruction fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). The increased natural fuels buildup coupled with droughts have been a prevailing factor in contributing to our wildfires and unhealthy forests (www.blm.gov/nhp/news/releases/pages/2004/pr040303_forests.html). Due to the severity of these wildfires, several regulations and guidelines have been implemented to save our forests. In fact, the President himself has devised a plan in order to restore our forests and prevent further destruction of our woodlands.

    Read More

  • Wildfire Mitigation

    2960 Words  | 6 Pages

    Humans have been changing the Western forests' fire system since the settlement by the Europeans and now we are experiencing the consequences of those changes. During the summer of 2002, 6.9 million acres of forests was burnt up in the West (Wildland Fires, 1). This figure is two times the ten year annual average, and it does not look like next summer will be any better (Wildfire Season, 1). Foresters have been trying to restore the forests back to their original conditions by thinning and prescribed fires but have encountered countless delays. Politicians are proposing sweeping changes in bills, which have caused great controversy, in efforts to correct the problems that the Forest Service has faced in restoration projects. Are these bills necessary or is there a better solution that politicians are overlooking?

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay: The Need For Deer Hunting

    2063 Words  | 5 Pages

    Years ago, killing animals for food was part of the average man’s everyday life. While, now a days, hunting is questioned by many across the world because it is commonly viewed as a recreational activity. Many residents have a problem with the dangers that come with hunting. Not to mention, as time goes on, society seems to feel differently about animals and how they should be treated. One of the biggest debates is the harvest of white tailed deer. All over the United States, white tailed deer thrive because of the few predators that feast upon them and the large forests and habitats that these deer can flourish in. However, as buildings and subdivisions pop up left and right decreasing the white tailed deer natural habitat, the debate grows stronger. The heart of the debate is centered around ethical issues, human and deer conflicts, safety, and the benefits hunting has on the economy.

    Read More

  • Fire Exists Throughou-Tment And Survival In Frankenstein

    1085 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although fire is linked to human life, as it is essential for survival, not only its use for food, security and warmth, particularly in the extreme cold weather

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech On Deer Hunting

    954 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thesis: The population of white-tail deer in Alabama has drastically increased over the past century causing significant damage to property and homeowners, caused by hunters being less active.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Wildfires

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    Fire at any level can be devastating, yet the effects that wildfires have on every worldwide country really has left its mark on the land. As written by world renowned wild fire spokesperson Smokey the Bear, “Every year, wildfires sweeps through parts of the United States setting wilderness and homes ablaze. On average these raging infernos destroy about four to five million acres of land a year. But in 2012, wildfire burned more than 9.3 million acres, an area about the size of Massachusetts and Connecticut combined” (U.S. Wildfires). Destroying homes, crops, towns and of course forests. Yet the effects of these fires can be seen from a negative perspective as well as some positive. Plus there are natural causes as well as manmade that makes these destructive fires erupt and become almost unstoppable in seconds.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Wildfire Season

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    The USDA and DOI are stuck in a negative feedback cycle, where their lack of ability to fund and improve forest health means forests are prone to larger wildfires, which then means they are forced to divert more money away from forest health programs. The proposal of new funding approaches for wildfire policy enjoys wide biparti...

    Read More

  • Climate Change Essay Outline

    1206 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Forest fire is occurring very frequently nowadays, reasons for it are a heavy increase in global warming and an increase in temperature.

    Read More

More about Prescribed Fire and White-Tailed Deer

Open Document