The many benefits of fire on Georgia forestland are being recognized this week during “Prescribed Fire Awareness Week.” Prescribed fire is known as “good fire,” because it is carefully applied  to  forest  vegetation  under  specific  weather  conditions  to  advance  defined  forest management objectives.

“Prescribed fire has a number of benefits for the land,” said Georgia Forestry Commission Director Chuck  Williams.  “When  the  forest  floor’s  litter  layer  has  been  reduced,  the  risk  of devastating wildfire is also reduced. Prescribed fire promotes new growth and healthy conditions for wildlife.”

Prescribed Fire Awareness Week was established in 2005 and is recognized annually during the first week in February. Governor Brian Kemp’s official 2019 proclamation highlights the forest management tool as one of the most environmentally and economically feasible methods for managing the state’s valuable forest resources.

Professional foresters and other land managers certified to prescribe-burn use the tool to enhance  reforestation,  aesthetics  and  forest  access.  Prescribed  fire  is  essential  for  managing wildlife species such as bobwhite quail, eastern wild turkey, white-tailed deer, many songbirds, gopher tortoises, the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker and other fire-dependent species. Prescribed burning is the only known forest management method which perpetuates the longleaf/wiregrass ecosystem, Georgia’s most diverse flora and fauna ecosystem.

To learn more about prescribed fire and services of the Georgia Forestry Commission, visit GaTrees.org.