Prescribed Fire Plans on Long Island
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) plans prescribed burns on Long Island routinely. The prescribed fire season typically ranges from January 1 to April 30 and from September 1 to December 30 each year with occasional summer prescribed burns being performed when weather conditions permit. The plan calls for cooperation among federal, state, local and nonprofit groups. The burns are conducted in conjunction with personnel from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Suffolk County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, The Nature Conservancy and local fire departments.
Following the 1995 Long Island Pine Barrens wildfires, the DEC and other agencies have increasingly utilized prescribed fire as a management tool. Currently the DEC and personnel from The Nature Conservancy are performing an extensive fuel reduction and habitat restoration prescribed burning program on the DEC's David A. Sarnoff Preserve. Work on this property began in 2005 with mechanical treatment of the vegetation on the property being conducted. In 2006, personnel from both organizations, along with volunteers, performed several prescribed burns on this property with more prescribed burns planned for 2007 and into the future.
Prescribed fire benefits include improvement of wildlife habitat by maintaining grasslands for nesting birds. Prescribed fire also improves wildlife habitat by maintaining a diverse forest environment. Other benefits include a reduction in highly combustible fuel loads that could potentially feed a wildland fire and the establishment and maintenance of fire breaks that make control and access to wildland fires easier to obtain. Prescribed fires also represent a valuable training opportunity for local firefighters who develop skills needed to fight wildland fires.
Before any prescribed fire is conducted a burn plan is developed. Burn plans outline management objectives and detail weather conditions under which the prescribed fire can take place. Before fires are conducted careful consideration is given to environmental factors such as current and expected weather conditions and smoke management considerations.
Individuals interested in viewing copies of Region One fire management plans, individual burn unit plans or general prescribed fire information should contact Region One Forest Rangers at (631) 444-0290.
DEC notifies local law enforcement and local fire-fighting agencies before conducting any prescribed fires. Individuals, however, are still encouraged to report smoke columns to local authorities.
