In 2007, Mammoth Cave National Park planned for and
accomplished three prescribed fires.
The 86-acre Chaumont area is a karst valley that holds
remnants of native prairie. Prescribed fire reduced nonnative
clovers, grasses, vines, and other woody plants, freeing the
native species from competition. In cooperation with adjoining
landowners and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the burn area
included 11 acres of private property in order to avoid
construction of mid-slope fire control lines.
The 1540-acre Big Woods unit harbors several distinct
vegetation communities: uplands, ravine, river slope, and
riparian, each requiring a specific fire prescription. With 300
acres of white oaks and southern red oaks >3’ diameter at breast height (DBH), and some tulip poplar >4’ DBH, Big Woods is one of the larger tracts of old growth forest in Kentucky. Wilson Cave, home
to the endangered Indiana Bat, required that the outside air temperature be above 54 degrees so the cave
would “breathe out” at the time of the fire and not cause smoke to enter the cave.
The 790-acre Dennison Ferry area is an oak-hickory forest with dense thickets of mature eastern red
cedar. Along the eastern boundary of the burn unit, which is also the park boundary, prescribed fire
reduced hazardous fuels in the wildland-urban interface/public-private lands interface.
“Fire has been very effective in reducing hazardous fuels and improving habitat,” said Superintendent
Patrick Reed.
Personnel on the Mammoth Cave NP prescribed fires included:
- Cumberland Gap Fire Use Module
- Firefighters: Great Smoky Mountains NP, Kings Mountain NMP, Cumberland Gap NHP, Big
South Fork NRA, Natchez Trace Pkwy, Mammoth Cave NP
- Great Onyx Job Corps Fire Crew
- Engines: Cumberland Gap NHP, Big South Fork NRA, Natchez Trace Pkwy, SER Fire Use
Engine
- SER Fuels Helicopter
- VFDs: Park City VFD, Cub Run VFD, Lincoln VFD
- Edmonson County Dispatch
Contact: Rich Caldwell, FMO, Mammoth Cave National Park
Phone: (270) 758-2119
*This story supports the National Fire Plan |
