Burning the Nature Reserve 2008

 

Update Monday 3 November 8:42AM  The burn looks good for today.  With daylight savings time off, we will try to start burning around 12-1.  Tuesday and Friday lab can come today instead of their regular lab period.  There will be a sign-up sheet on the back of my old gray toyota truck, so sign-in an get a job from whoever is there running things. 

 

To participate in the burn you will need to

1. be properly dressed

2. have done the web research and turned in the 200 word statement described below.

3. know what the burn plan is.

 

I will assign student jobs based on your preparation for the burn. 

 

I will update this page often as well as leaving updates on my WebCT page

 

 

Remember, wear the right clothing.  New clothing advice for Fall 2008--don't wear jeans that hang on the ground; wear high-water pants or stuff them in your boots or socks...check out this photo of a student from last year that is dressed just right, except for the long frayed bottoms of his jeans (or at least you can see what's left of his long, frayed jeans after they caught on fire) 

 

 

 

  1. wear only natural fiber clothing that you are going to get dirty (cotton works fine); long sleeves recommended.  Nylon and fleece will melt.

  2. bring or borrow leather gloves

  3. wear leather boots or old tennis shoes with socks to protect ankles

  4. Do the following web research to prepare for the burn and email it to me before the burn

  5. Check this page for updates on when the burn will occur and see weather page

  6. Read and understand the burn plan at the bottom of this page

 

WEB RESEARCH TO PREPARE FOR BURN:

We are planning on burning the prairie at the Jewel Moore Nature Reserve sometime in the next two weeks.  Search the WWW for information on prairie restoration and the use of fires to restore prairies.  I want you to specifically look for information on one of the following topics.   Email to me (not as an attachment, but simply as text) a concise 200 word summary of what you found.  List the web references you used (make sure your web addresses are accurate!).  This needs to be done on a word processor.

 

1.  What is the history of prairies in Arkansas or any other location that is east of Arkansas (i.e., outside the major prairie biomes of the US)—i.e., what caused eastern prairies; how are they maintained; how many are there?

 

here are three links to get you started on this one   

http://www.naturalheritage.org/pdf/roth_prairie.pdf

http://www.mvm.usace.army.mil/grandprairie/pdf/Prairie%20Grass.pdf

http://www.tncfire.org/

 

 

2.  How do you conduct a prairie burn?

 

An example of small prairie burns

 

http://www.wmich.edu/asylumlake/Prairie%20Burn/Prairie%20Burn%20Frame.htm

 

A complete How-To manual for prairie burning:

 

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/habitat/burning/index.htm

 

A training manual for using the drip torch we will use to start the fire:

http://www.bouldermountainfire.org/training/drip/page3.html

 

 

 

Burning Plan

 

            Proposed Date: the week of 3 Nov 2008;  Monday, Nov 3 looks possible as of now.

            Weather: wait for the following conditions:

·       light winds (5-10MPH)  from the south, preferably from the southeast

·       Relative humidity less than 55% and more than 30%; temperature above 65 F

·       We will check wind speed and direction on site before the burn begins.

 

Ignition:  The fire will be started with a drip torch burning a mix of diesel and gasoline (3:1 ratio).  We  will start a backfire to burn into the wind, and allow this to burn 30 meters before starting the head fire.

 

Holding and Control: Fire line will be cut by the UCA physical plant.  Ecology students will pull cut grass away from intact prairie vegetation and back burn along edges.

 

Hazards: Burn volunteers should be warned not to stand under the electrical lines along Farris as the fire burns near according to Randy Freeman, the Conway fire Marshall.  This is because high temperatures can cause the lines to droop.