Prescribed fires planned for 2023 in the Hoosier National Forest

BEDFORD — The USDA Forest Service plans to conduct seasonal prescribed burning in late winter, early spring, and fall on the Hoosier National Forest to maintain, restore or improve early successional habitat for wildlife, maintain wetlands, restore and maintain unique barren ecosystems, and restore oak-hickory dominated ecosystems.

Prescribed fires are low intensity, burning primarily leaf litter, dry herbaceous plants,
downed woody debris, and small saplings.

The scientific record shows that throughout history fire played a vital and necessary role in sustaining the eastern deciduous forest ecosystem. Scientific research supports using prescribed burning to reintroduce low-intensity fire to its natural role within the ecosystem. Prescribed burning also reduces the amount of woody material on the forest floor, thereby lowering the risk of catastrophic wildfire, and diversifying the understory plant community. 

Prescribed fire is an important tool in restoring and maintaining oak-hickory-dominated ecosystems, which many wildlife species require for survival.

Approximately 9,000 acres are planned to receive treatment with prescribed fire in 2023 on National Forest System lands and through agreements with private landowners in the following counties: Crawford, Jackson, Lawrence, Orange, and Perry.

Prescribed burning to occur in the Hoosier National Forest.

Forest Service fire managers carefully follow prescribed fire plans that are up to date with the most recent science. Managers evaluate key factors and conditions on the day of a prescribed burn to determine whether the burn should be implemented or not. Fire managers use National Weather Service data to determine the best days to burn to achieve desired effects and maximize safety. An average of 12 days per year meet the stringent requirements for prescribed burning to occur in the Hoosier National Forest. Before lighting a burn, managers ensure many specific conditions are met, including parameters for fuel moisture, wind speed and direction, and relative humidity, among other factors. Decisions are generally made on the day of the burn once parameters have been measured or forecasted. Therefore, advance-specific notification for a particular burn can be difficult. Forest staff notifies residents and businesses in the immediate area of the prescribed burn.

Check the forest’s social media accounts for announcements of burns at www.facebook.com/HoosierNF/ and https://twitter.com/HoosierNF. Maps and additional details of the burn areas will be available at the following website: https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/

Designated burn areas are marked with signs and are closed to all public entry on the day of the burn and until the area is considered safe. Burning may affect access to hunting areas. For your safety, please contact the Indiana Interagency Coordination Center Dispatcher (812-547-9262) if you plan to hunt or camp in or near prescribed burn areas.  Maps of potential burn areas are available on the following website:  https://bit.ly/41zMjvG .

Smoke is an unavoidable consequence of prescribed burning. Fire managers burn only under atmospheric conditions specified in a burn plan and rely on meteorologic data to choose days in which the impacts of smoke are minimized. Smoke plumes from a prescribed fire usually rise high into the air where the smoke dissipates. If smoke is present on roadways, motorists should reduce speeds and turn on headlights.

All burns are implemented under carefully planned prescriptions and protocols to mitigate the risk of an escaped fire and smoke exposure to communities. Forest neighbors who wish to be notified of a specific date of a burn, or those who wish to report medical conditions that could be affected by smoke, may contact the Indiana Interagency Coordination Center Dispatcher at 812-547-9262.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service completed a 90-day nationwide operational pause and program review of protocols, decision support tools, and practices related to the implementation of prescribed fire. This pause allowed time to identify and immediately implement program improvements to ensure fire staff has the resources, tools, and support needed to safely carry out this important work. The lessons learned, driven by the best available science, have been incorporated into all future burn plans.