The use of prescribed fire as a land management tool has deep
and ancient roots in South Carolina’s heritage. However,
conducting prescribed burns is becoming increasingly challenging
due to a variety of factors, according to a state wildlife
biologist and forester. Johnny Stowe, S.C. Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) representative to the South Carolina Prescribed
Fire Council and a certified wildlife biologist and forester,
said properly conducted prescribed burns (also called
“controlled burns”) have multiple benefits. Stowe is also a
landowner who burns his own land. Prescribed fires help restore
and maintain vital habitat for wildlife, including bobwhite
quail and other grassland birds, wildPrescribed burn turkeys,
white-tailed deer, gopher tortoises, and red-cockaded
woodpeckers. Besides the many wildlife species that require
fire-dependent habitat, many plants thrive only in regularly
burned forests. The demise of the longleaf pine forest and
associated grasslands, which once made South Carolina on