Big Thicket's Big Sandy Prescribed Fire: Restoring Longleaf Pine Savanna

Fire staff monitor the Big Sandy prescribed fire at Big Thicket National Preserve. NPS / C. McInnerney.

The Big Sandy prescribed fire at Big Thicket National Preserve, in Polk County, Texas, is part of the National Park Service's work to reduce hazardous fuels and restore longleaf pine. The carefully planned burn continues the restoration of the preserve's longleaf pine savanna and lowers the risk of wildfire for nearby communities.

Waiting for the right weather

The project planned to treat up to 9,275 acres in three units. Fire managers had to wait several years for suitable conditions:

• 2021: too much rain.
• 2022–2023: high to extreme fire danger.
• 2024: conditions were finally right, and crews burned 4,000 acres.

Poor weather meant only parts of the units could be burned, but those parts were the main focus: the areas with plant communities that need frequent fire.

What fire does for the savanna

In those plant communities, prescribed fire:

• stops woody brush from building up;
• controls invasive plants and insect pests;
• returns nutrients to the soil;
• encourages new growth.

Part of the Big Sandy area shortly after the burn, showing the results of a low-intensity fire. NPS / C. McInnerney.

Frequent, low-intensity fires clear away the fuels that feed catastrophic wildfires. A wildfire can burn very hot and fast, and that harms the longleaf pine savanna.

Rare species

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has found more than 30 plants and animals associated with longleaf pine ecosystems that are listed, or are candidates for listing, as threatened or endangered. They include:

• the red-cockaded woodpecker;
• Texas trailing phlox;
• the Louisiana pine snake;
• the gopher tortoise.

Keeping the savanna healthy protects and maintains their habitat.

Protecting neighbours

The Big Sandy area lies on the preserve's northern boundary, next to private property, Tribal lands and homes, so reducing fuels there lowers the wildfire risk for the surrounding communities. The project shows collaborative fire management at work: it meets the goals for caring for a critical forest and reduces the danger of wildfire at the same time.

Sources

• National Park Service, "Restoration Through Fire: Big Thicket National Preserve's Big Sandy Prescribed Fire". https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/restoration-bith-big-sandy-rx.htm
• Rewritten in hubnx's own words.