Prescribed Burning Planned

The district is preparing for the upcoming prescribed burning season. These prescribed burns are fires that are purposely set by land management agencies using a prepared fire plan that involves a prescription to manage the fire. In fiscal year 2008 the Blue Ridge Ranger District will attempt to treat approximately 3,400 acres of national forest lands using prescribed fire. The objectives of these treatments include; removal of hazardous fuels that can be a threat to the urban interface (where houses and structures meet the forest), increasing wildlife forage by creating new browse, and clearing the forest floor of debris in order to allow species such as oak and pine to reginerate. Many of our goals and objectives are connected to the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan of 2004. Depending on objectives, the prescribed fire season typically begins in November and runs through the month of March. For more information about prescribed fire, visit this website- http://www.gfc.state.ga.us/Fore stFire/PrescribedBurning.cfm.