Summer Burns Set For WMA Grasslands

TABLE ROCK - Nebraska Game and Parks is planning prescribed burns at wildlife management areas in southeast Nebraska.

Burns are planned at Taylor’s Branch WMA in Pawnee County and Osage WMA in Johnson County.

A Game and Parks press release says burns in the summer can help set back undesirable plants that invade native prairies and other grasslands.

Eastern red cedar trees and undesirable deciduous shrubs can be more susceptible to summer burns because of higher air temperatures. The fires can eliminate plants that are expending energy to flower and fruit.

Summer and fall burns, if used in conjunction with grazing, can set back brome grass and other invasive species to increase diversity in grasslands and improve habitat for wildlife.