The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, in cooperation with Quail Forever and the Arkansas Forestry Association, will be hosting special workshops for land managers on how and when to use fire to promote better wildlife habitat on their property. Workshops are scheduled for Malvern, Mountain View and Ash Flat in the next few weeks, and more will be scheduled as the year goes on.
“Many species of early grasses and plants that produce abundant food for wildlife need fire to remain established,” said Jason Honey, private lands biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. “Some of these plants have seeds which require fire to become active; in other cases fire activates the plants by removing leaves and other debris from the ground and allowing sunlight to penetrate to the soil.”
Honey says landowners who attend one of these workshops will not only learn why they should use controlled fire on their property, but how to use it to properly establish high-quality habitat for quail, turkeys, deer and a variety of other wildlife species.
“Most areas of Arkansas historically were exposed to periodic, low-intensity fires,” Honey said. “These smaller fires kept food on the ground for wildlife and prevented larger, catastrophic wildfires.”
During the workshop landowners also will be able to meet with private lands biologists in their area and learn about some of the programs available to assist them in their wildlife management goals.
“There are available programs for landowners meeting certain criteria to receive assistance in planning and conducting a burn, as well as programs to enroll land into conservation easements for a small compensation.,” Honey said. “We can work with you to help achieve many wildlife management goals from there.”
The workshops all will be held in a classroom setting, and lunch will be provided to all attendees who register in advance. The following workshops are being sponsored by the AGFC, Quail Forever, and the Arkansas Forestry Association.
Malvern Feb. 14, 2019 Malvern 4H Center 1407 MLK Blvd., Malvern AR 72104 Register at www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-to-burn-tickets-malvern
Mountain View Jan. 26, 2019 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Intersection of Warren Street and Park Ave. Mountain View, AR 72560 Register at http://learn-to-burn-mtview.eventbrite.com
Ash Flat Jan 29, 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Ozarka College 64 College Drive Ash Flat, AR 72513 Register at http://learn-to-burn-ash flat.eventbrite.com
