Russell
Cave National Monument Russell Cave Sees Fire After Years of Suppression
After decades of fire suppression, the Montague
Mountain area of Russell Cave National Monument (Bridgeport,
Alabama) was treated with prescribed fire on May 4, 2005.
The 350-acre burn unit consisted primarily of oak-hickory
forest, with relatively steep topography. The objectives of
the burn were to reduce fuel loads, non-native plant cover,
and density of small hardwood trees. It is expected that reduction
in fuel loading will aid in the increase of herbaceous species
cover.
The cooperation of many National Park Service
units was needed in order to complete this project. The Cumberland
Gap and Great Smoky Mountains Fire Use Modules, in conjunction
with personnel from Russell Cave National Monument, Little
River National Preserve, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kings
Mountain National Military Park, and the Natchez Trace Parkway
conducted the burn. Approximately half of the land in the
Montague unit is owned by private individuals who wanted to
facilitate fuel reduction on their lands. Agreements and cooperation
with adjacent private landowners allowed land managers to
burn on a landscape scale, as opposed to burning land fragments
on a smaller scale. Such cooperation across boundary lines
not only protects people by reducing wildfire risk, but is
also ecologically beneficial.
