GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – The Florida Forest Service’s Waccasassa Forestry Center is set to begin dormant season prescribed burns on state lands in the coming weeks. Approximately 20,000 acres across seven state forests—Carl Duval Moore, Etoniah Creek, Goethe, Indian Lake, Newnans Lake, Ross Prairie, and Welaka—are slated for burning. This total does not include burns on privately managed lands or those overseen by other public agencies.
Dormant season burns take place during winter when cooler temperatures and the dormant stage of trees reduce stress on timber while helping manage heavy fuel loads. Prescribed fire, a controlled and pre-planned burning process, plays a vital role in ecosystem health and wildfire prevention. It also supports objectives such as improving wildlife habitats, managing ranges, controlling diseases in young pines, preserving endangered species, and maintaining fire-dependent ecosystems.
“Fire renews forests. Overgrowth fuels wildfires and threatens native plant species as well as the habitats that our wildlife depend on,” said Stephen Montgomery, Waccasassa Forestry Center Manager. “After a prescribed fire, plants resprout and wildlife thrives. Fire has kept our forests diverse and wildlife habitats healthy for thousands of years.”
Specific dates for the prescribed burns will depend on favorable weather conditions to ensure the burns achieve their desired effects safely.
Last fiscal year, the Florida Forest Service conducted prescribed burns across 277,818 acres of state forests, including 11,173 acres burned by the Waccasassa Forestry Center in Alachua, Levy, Marion, and Putnam counties.
The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages over 1 million acres of state forests and helps oversee more than 17 million acres of private and community forests. It is also tasked with protecting more than 26 million acres from wildfires.
For more information about prescribed burns, visit WhyPrescribedFire.org. Additional details about the Florida Forest Service can be found at FDACS.gov/FLForestService.