Prescribed Fire for Fuel Reduction in Northern Mixed Grass Prairie: Infl uence on Habitat and Populations of Indigenous Wildlife and Future Forest Flammability
Problem The northern mixed grass prairie is a dynamic, disturbancebased ecosystem. We have learned that rest or lack of periodic disturbance of these grasslands is currently our biggest enemy on public lands. Some of our public lands, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Waterfowl Production Areas, have sometimes been rested for periods of 10 years or more. These rested areas usually have extensive invasions of smooth brome or Kentucky bluegrass.