Conservation Florida Conducts First Prescribed Burn on D Ranch Preserve
Photo by Lloyd Wilkinson.
The inaugural burn marks first in decades from fire-absent preserve
Osteen, Fla. (April x, 2023) – Conservation Florida, a dynamic driver of land conservation in Florida, conducted the first prescribed fire on D Ranch Preserve in decades, thanks to partial funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife.
D Ranch Preserve covers 476 acres in Osteen, Florida, within the City of Deltona, bordering the Lake Monroe Conservation Area, which is managed by the St. Johns River Water Management District. The preserve once served as a ranch and cow/calf operation for decades, but is now a place of refuge for wildlife. Currently, Conservation Florida is in the process of enhancing and restoring the habitats for wildlife use, and implementing prescribed fire is a large part of this process. The first burn on the property marks the beginning of maintenance burning, necessary for land where prescribed burning has been absent.
Conservation Florida's stewardship program works to improve the condition of our conservation lands.
“We do this by identifying the natural resource issues of our properties and exploring ways to implement certain land management measures to solve these issues in an environmentally beneficial and most cost-effective way,” explained Land Steward at Conservation Florida, Mark Rizzo. “On D Ranch Preserve, stewardship is done through conducting prescribed burns and silvicultural activities, controlling invasive species, monitoring plants and animals, and conducting enhancement and restoration activities.
On this property, stewardship is done through conducting prescribed burns, removing species from lands, introducing species to land, controlling invasive species, monitoring plants and animals, and conducting enhancement and restoration activities.
The preserve contains a mixture of several habitats such as critical Florida scrub habitat, scrubby flatwoods, mesic flatwoods, and depression marsh, all comprising native Florida species.
Photos by Mark Rizzo.
In addition to buffering public conservation lands and adding a significant amount of upland and wetland habitat types to this conservation corridor, D Ranch Preserve also further protects the Lake Monroe watershed. Wildlife common to the property includes the Florida black bear, Florida mouse, wood stork, gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake, and Sherman’s fox squirrel, among numerous other animals. These species all rely on the positive impacts of prescribed burning to survive in their natural habitats.
Fire is a vital factor in managing the structure and composition of vegetation in many of the natural communities in Florida. The primary use of prescribed fire is to mimic natural fire regimes. Additionally, the application of fire aids in the reduction of fuels and minimizes the potential for catastrophic and damaging wildfires. Most of the natural communities on the property are fire adapted, making prescribed fire an important tool for use in restoration and maintenance of plant communities within the Preserve.
“Prescribed burning is an integral part of our enhancement and restoration efforts, increasing our plant diversity and wildlife use on the property as well as within the Lake Monroe conservation corridor,” detailed Rizzo.
Photos by Mark Rizzo.
The stewardship program was able to secure partial funding to cover some of the cost of the burn.
“We thank our partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife program that helped with partial funding, and we look forward to future partnerships as well to help this conservation land succeed with its needed ecological and wildlife management,” said Rizzo.
To prepare the fire-absent land for prescribed burning, firelines, which require continuous maintenance, were installed. Firelines refer to a control line that’s dug to mineral soil and help contain the area of the fire. Fireline maintenance is important during times of prescribed fire activities but also throughout the entire year in certain areas to help protect the property and neighboring properties from the spread of potential devastating wildfires.
After completing this installation, Conservation Florida was able to use the services of a contractor to help with conducting the burns. Prescribed burning requires burn plans that contain specific details of the burn, safety measures, and strict weather parameters that need to be met. The Florida Forest Service has to give authorization to complete burns to ensure safety of those involved and those who may encounter the burn while driving, for instance, which was granted, and the preserve was ready for its first ever burn in several decades. A 35-acre burn was accomplished comprised of scrubby flatwoods, scrub and improved pasture.
Prescribed burn contractor, Young Bear Environmental and Florida Forest Services on site at the burn. Photos by Lloyd Wilkinson.
Going forward, “we will burn whenever the weather is right to conduct a safe burn,” according to Rizzo. After maintenance burning has been completed, most burns will occur every 5-10 years on most of the property. Most habitats will begin with dormant season burning to help burn decades of accumulated vegetation and then eventually switched to spring/summer burns to help increase the number of flowering plants and increase seed viability in native grasses such as wiregrass.
The introduction of prescribed fire to D Ranch Preserve will help native Florida species survive - and flourish - for years to come. Rizzo added, “We are excited to have fire re-introduced onto D Ranch Preserve after several decades of fire exclusion and we look forward to the continuation of prescribed burning on the property.”
Video by Mark Rizzo.
About Conservation Florida:
Conservation Florida is a statewide accredited land conservancy working to conserve Florida’s water, wildlife, wild places, and protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor. Our conservation projects support Florida’s native plants and wildlife, fresh water, wildlife corridors, family farms and ranches, the economy, and nature-based recreation. Since its founding in 1999, Conservation Florida has prioritized strategic and evidence-based land protection and has saved over 30,000 acres of critical habitat.
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