News Release

Prescribed Fire Scheduled

Date: March 20, 2018
Contact: Brian Robinson, 256.234.7111

Weather permitting, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park is planning to conduct prescribed fires this Thursday and Friday, March 22-23, 2018. The goals of using prescribed fire at Horseshoe Bend National Military Park are to reduce hazardous fuel accumulations and to restore and maintain a diverse and functioning ecosystem. The fires will be concentrated in the northeast section of the park. Within this area are remnant mountain longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), a fire dependent species, and its accompanying ecosystem. This pine species is found on upper slopes within mixed hardwood forests; however, it is at risk due to excessive duff buildup and stand densities. These conditions create an environment unfavorable for longleaf pine regeneration and could lead to severe wildfires.

The objectives of the prescribed fires were established to benefit of the park’s long-term natural and cultural resources. Keeping the litter burned off should remove the source of new duff and allow total volumes of duff to slowly decrease through decomposition and mixing with mineral soils by soil organisms.

Visitors to the park and motorists traveling in the local area could experience some light drift smoke within the park and along local roadways. Please drive slowly with your headlights on and be on the lookout for fire personnel who may be working near the roadways.

For more information on wildland fire management in the National Park Service, please visit:

https://www.nps.gov/fire/wildland-fire/

For more information call Horseshoe Bend National Military Park at 256-234-7111 or visit the park website at www.nps.gov/hobe. Horseshoe Bend NMP is located 12 miles north of Dadeville on Alabama Highway 49.
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