Prescribed fires planned through December to reduce wildfire danger at Chance Reserve
The Southwest Florida Water Management District will be conducting prescribed burns this month through December at the Edward W. Chance Reserve-Gilley Creek Tract in Manatee County.
Setting prescribed fires in controlled settings can reduce the risk of wildfires burning out of control, as seen during the state’s wildfire emergency in 2017.
Gilley Creek is located between State Road 62 and State Road 64, east of County Road 675. Approximately 300 acres will be burned in small, manageable units.
The catastrophic Florida wildfires of 1998 signaled a change in the perceived value of prescribed burns when 2,000 wildfires burned nearly 500,000 acres, forced the evacuation of the entire population of Flagler County and shut down Interstate 95 between Jacksonville and Titusville.
Responding to the 1998 fires were more than 10,000 firefighters from across the United States, as well as Army, Marine and National Guard troops.
Benefits of prescribed fires include reducing overgrown plants, promoting the growth of new, diverse plants, maintaining the character and condition of wildlife habitat, and maintaining access for public recreation.
This Chance Reserve-Coker Prairie Tract property contains relatively unaltered natural land.
The reserve contains pine flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods, scrub, freshwater marsh and hardwood hammocks.
The pine overstory in the flatwoods was logged by prior owners, but a high diversity of natural under-laying vegetation species, called understory, remain.
“The northern portion of the tract has a higher elevation and drains into the Manatee River. The southern portion contains the freshwater marsh that gives the tract its name. The marsh retains surface water after rains and slowly releases it into the Myakka River through Coker Creek,” according to the water district web site.
The water management district conducts prescribed fires on approximately 30,000 acres each year.
This story was originally published October 15, 2021 at 9:56 AM.
