Choosing Where to Burn: A Prescribed Fire Priority Model for Everglades National Park

South Florida's national parks hold some of the world's most complex and diverse ecosystems — home to endangered species that wildland fire can both help and harm, rich in cultural resources from centuries of Indigenous use, invaded by many non-native species, and bordered by communities of more than 8 million people.

Prescribed fire in the River of Grass, Everglades National Park. Photo by Michael Gue, National Park Service

Too few burn days

Fire managers use prescribed fire to meet ecological goals. But limited resources, weather and competing priorities leave only a narrow window of suitable days. To make the most of it, the parks worked with the South Florida Natural Resources Center to build a burn prioritization model for Everglades National Park.

Firefighters pause before continuing ignition on a prescribed burn. Photo by Michael Gue, National Park Service

How the model works

Using geographic information systems (GIS), the model folds many factors into a single tool:

• plant conservation;
• protection of endangered species;
• human life and safety;
• protection of cultural, archeological and recreational resources;
• control of invasive plants.

It gives managers a quantitative way to decide what to burn, in place of the usual qualitative judgment — supporting a variety of fire regimes across the wetlands while protecting people, heritage and infrastructure, and helping the park reach optimal or near-optimal intervals between fires on each unit.

Buildings in a cleared area, giving defensible space. Photo by Michael Gue, National Park Service

Ignition around a South Florida community. Photo by Michael Gue, National Park Service

"This model is a step closer in our goal to perfect our fire management strategy here in South Florida. It allows us to quantify multiple competing objectives, break them down, prioritize them, and streamline them into a common mission."
>
— Dylan Scott, prescribed fire specialist, Everglades National Park

A firefighter ignites fuels around a home in Big Cypress National Preserve. Photo by Michael Gue, National Park Service

Sources

Based on "Progressive fire management in complex ecosystems," National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain.