Most people are aware that devastating wildfires destroy thousands of acres of forestland every year, but they don’t realize that controlled or prescribed fire can actually be good for a forest.

Prescribed burning is a forest management practice that benefits certain forests by reducing the amount of leaves, branches and dead trees accumulated on the forest floor that could fuel a wildfire. In addition to helping control the spread of wildfire, removal of this "litter layer" also promotes the growth of new forage and succulent plants, which are important sources of food for many wildlife species including rabbits and deer. And the increase in available insects and seeds following a prescribed fire is good for turkeys and a variety of nongame species.

While improving wildlife habitat, prescribed fire also promotes the health of the forest by controlling the spread of disease and insect infestations, and reducing plant competition for nutrients, water and sunlight. This management technique is commonly used in longleaf, shortleaf and loblolly pine forests because these trees are naturally resistant to fire. In fact, the longleaf pine requires fire for its seeds to germinate.

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