If you have ever heard of prescribed burning in Texas, then I am sure you have heard of thee Dr. Butch Taylor.\u00a0 He goes by Dr. Charles A. Taylor, Jr. on his numerous publications (I’m telling you folks, he wrote the book, literally).\u00a0 Butch is a tremendous friend, mentor, and colleague and I hope you enjoy his story as much as I have.\u00a0 We could all learn something from Butch.<\/p>\n
How did you get introduced to fire?<\/strong>\u00a0Fire was first presented to me as a viable range management option when I was in 4-H and involved in range judging.\u00a0 Later, as an undergraduate majoring in range science, fire was again presented as a viable range management option.\u00a0 However, both of these experiences were more hypothetical and involved no practical application of fire to the landscape.\u00a0 In fact, in the mid-and late 1960s, fire was viewed as being harmful to the ecosystem by the general public and even by some range professionals.\u00a0 Also, growing up in a \u201cdry-climate\u201d\u00a0 (Pecos County), I was not able to experience or view any evidence that fire was something that could be used in range management (I never saw any evidence of a fire-culture and didn\u2019t know if it existed).\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Surprisingly, the army provided my first experience of the benefits of fire.\u00a0 I entered the Army in 1968 and was sent to Fort Sill for artillery training.\u00a0 I\u2019m sure I was the only range science major in the class.\u00a0 A big part of our training was live-firing artillery into the impact zone.\u00a0 They would load us in trucks and transport us to the firing range where we would be assigned a target and we would have to send in fire missions via radio.\u00a0 This training occurred during July and August and it was extremely hot and dry.\u00a0 Coming from the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, I had never seen grass production like what was produced at Fort Sill (i.e., tall grasses such as big bluestem, Indian grass, little bluestem, etc.).\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n One extremely hot, dry, windy day, while firing artillery rounds into the impact zone a fire broke out.\u00a0 The wind was blowing towards us and even though there was some distance between the impact zone and our location, it was obvious the fire would be upon us quickly.\u00a0 The Colonel in charge of the exercise quickly gave the order to load-up in the trucks and get out of the area.\u00a0 While everyone else was scrambling to get into the trucks, I stood and watched in amazement as the fire traveled across the landscape with flame lengths over 20-feet high.\u00a0 My attention was quickly brought back to the issue at hand as the Colonel screamed in my ear to get my b_ _ on the truck, right now!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Later I asked the Colonel how often they had fires during the training sessions.\u00a0 He commented he had been stationed at Fort Sill for over 5-years and his recollection was that it had burned every summer.<\/em><\/p>\n Later I was stationed at Fort Hood, where I observed the same results of frequent fire as I observed at Fort Sill.\u00a0 And, then I spent a year in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam and while most of the land was used for rice-farming, there were zones where farming was not used due to frequent and intense combat.\u00a0\u00a0 These areas were dominated by tall grasses which burned frequently during the hot, dry- season.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Because of these observations in the Army, I started setting fires under hot, dry conditions as soon as I got in a position of authority.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n How early do you start planning for a burn?\u00a0<\/strong>There are general guidelines that can be used in the process for prescribed burning.\u00a0 A general guideline is to start prescribed burn planning 2-3 years prior to implementation of the burn.\u00a0 The application of prescribed fire is not rocket science, but it can be complicated.\u00a0 One major reason for this is that actual burn days are limited within any particular year, and the burn plan should be planned and developed well ahead of the actual fire (e.g., wait until optimum weather conditions and then be in a position to pull the trigger at a moment\u2019s notice). \u00a0\u00a0Preparation of the burn unit is also time consuming.\u00a0 For example, fire-line preparation results in piles of brush along the fine-line.\u00a0 Brush piles contain large amounts of 10-hour fuels.\u00a0 Diameter of these fuels range in size from \u00bc\u201d to 1\u201d in diameter.\u00a0 They are light enough to be picked up by the energy of the fire but large enough to continue burning a considerable distance downwind (i.e., I\u2019ve experienced spot fires starting 600-feet downwind from brush piles).\u00a0 Brush piles should be burned during safe conditions.\u00a0 Bottom line is that a comprehensive burn plan may contain over 20-important items that have to be developed, planned, and explained prior to the burn; this takes time.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n What\u2019s most unique about a post-fire environment?\u00a0<\/strong>The answer to this is somewhat a function of the goals and objectives of the landowner.\u00a0 For example, if a manager is mostly trying to improve cattle production then fires that reduce woody plant cover and increase grass are usually favored.\u00a0 If the major noxious plants are perceived to be prickly pear, ashe juniper, and Eastern red cedar, then starting prescribed fires during dry periods in the summer time can have drastic effects on the vegetative complex.\u00a0 Even with dense stands of juniper and pear these plants can actually be killed with the right kind of fire (i.e., reclamation burns conducted during drought).\u00a0 This practice of growing season burning has the most potential for increase grass production in the Edwards Plateau.<\/em><\/p>\n If the goal is to improve forage quality with some suppression of woody plant growth and\/or mitigate wildfire frequency and intensity, then burns conducted during the dormant season under mild conditions might be the choice.\u00a0 Actually, very few species of plants are killed by fire. \u00a0Most plants are well adapted to fire and respond in a positive manner following fire.\u00a0 Fire is not a one-time tool.<\/em><\/p>\n