FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan. 27, 2017
DEP CELEBRATES PRESCRIBED FIRE AWARENESS WEEK
~The Florida Park Service plans to apply prescribed fire to 105,000 acres across the state this year~
Prescribed fire at Fakahatchee Strand State Park successfully burned more than 6,000 acres.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida
Department of Environmental Protection is celebrating Prescribed Fire Awareness
Week this week to recognize the important role fire plays in protecting Florida’s
natural communities. Many of Florida’s ecosystems require fire at regular
intervals to maintain diversity. Prescribed fire is also a safe way to ensure
ecosystem health while reducing wildfire risk.
“One of DEP's strategic goals is to
improve the quality of natural resources through long-term planning,
restoration and maintenance, and
prescribed fire is an important land
management tool,” said DEP Secretary Jon Steverson. “I am proud to say that we
have invested more funding to conduct land management over the last two years
than we have in the previous 10. It’s time to get to work and restore Florida’s
incredible ecosystems that haven’t seen fire in decades.”
Prescribed burning, which is guided
by detailed plans and must be conducted by specially trained staff, is an
important land-management activity that benefits many of the nearly 800,000
acres entrusted to the Florida State Park system. In fiscal years 2015-16 and
2016-17, the state
of Florida has invested more than $26 million
for resource management in state parks, allowing the Florida Park Service to
set lofty goals for prescribed fire. This fiscal year, the Florida Park Service
plans to apply prescribed fire to 105,000 acres across Florida – more than any
previous year.
Earlier this fiscal year, the
Florida Park Service, in collaboration with the Florida Forest Service, conducted a prescribed fire that successfully burned
6,000 acres at Fakahatchee Strand State Park – the largest prescribed fire in
Florida State Park history! The Florida Park Service had 22 crew members
on-site using a variety of fire engines, vehicles and equipment to ensure the fire was safely controlled
both by land and air.
Prescribed fires are only conducted by highly trained and professional
staff and only when weather conditions are suitable. To learn more about the
role of prescribed fire, visit www.goodfires.org.
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