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James L. Piehl

Publications and source records attributed to James L. Piehl.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Effects of fire in the Northern Great Plains

This publication is a review of selected literature about prescribed burning in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) for management of wildlife. It also will be useful to other resource managers and researchers and to persons interested in the NGP. It is more 'descriptive' than 'interpretative.'The publication is a joint effort of the South Dakota State Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (SDCFWRU), South Dakota State University, Brookings; the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC), Jamestown, N.D.; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Fergus Falls, Minn. Manuscript typing and library services were shared between SDCFWRU and NPWRC.This publication (EC 761) is the second of three SDSU Extension circulars on grassland fires. EC 760 is Prescribed burning guidelines in the Northern Great Plains; EC 762 is Annotated bibliography of fire literature relative to northern grasslands in South-Central Canada and North-Central United States and contains many more citations than presented in this publication. All three circulars may be obtained from either the Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Department; SDSU Box 2206; ph (605) 688-6121; or from the Ag Communications Bulletin Room; SDSU Box 2231; ph (605) 688-5628; both in Brookings, S.D. 57007.

Report

Annotated bibliography of fire literature relative to northern grasslands in south-central Canada and north-central United States

Natural resource managers have greatly increased the use of fire to manage grassland habitats during the past two decades in the northern Great Plains region of the United States and Canada. In support of these efforts, we have compiled this annotated bibliography to provide a condensed reference of fire literature for those managers with an interest in fire ecology. References are arranged alphabetically by author and year, numbered consecutively, and referenced by number in the author and subject indexes that follow the bibliography. The intent in compiling the bibliography and indexes is more to identify subject matter and to direct the reader to sources rather than to provide a digested interpretation of each manuscript.

Circular

Prescribed burning guidelines in the Northern Great Plains

The use of fire to manage grasslands for wildlife is a relatively new management option for resource managers in the Northern Great Plains (NGP). Nearly all of the burning during the past 20-25 years has been conducted without the aid of specific guidelines for the region. This state-of-the-art set of recommendations was compiled because of this void.Records of 902 grassland fires (primarily on U.S. Fish and Wildlife lands), personal experiences, and synopses of other published fire research were used in developing the guidelines in this manual.Fifty-two percent of the 902 fires were in native prairie grasslands with lesser amounts in tame and native grass plantings, wetlands, and woodlands.Prescription grassland fires averaged 31 ha (77 acres) per burn. The personnel needed to safely conduct a grassland fire depended on the size of the burn the kind of firebreaks, available equipment, and weather conditions. Costs and hours of effort to conduct fires were inversely related to burn area size. Cost ratios are extremely high for fires of less than 4 ha (10 acres). They are essentially the same for burns of 16 to 113 ha (40 to 280 acres).The two primary reasons for burning grasslands are wildlife habitat improvement and native prairie restoration. Fire use steadily increased between 1965 and 1984, but the greatest increase occurred following workshop instruction in 1978.These guidelines present a set of reasons, criteria, techniques, and examples of simple prescriptions which aid in the planning and execution of a safe and effective prescribed burning program for wildlife enhancement in grassland areas of the NGP.

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