Photo Story: Fort McCoy prescribed burn team holds their first prescribed burn of 2024

Photo By Christopher Jones | Members of the Fort McCoy prescribed burn team oversee a prescribed burn Feb. 29, 2024, along the railroad tracks on South Post at Fort McCoy, Wis. The post prescribed burn team includes personnel with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Emergency Services Fire Department; Directorate of Public Works (DPW) Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch; Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; and the Colorado State University Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands, under contract with the post. Prescribed burns also improve wildlife habitat, control invasive plant species, restore and maintain native plant communities, and reduce wildfire potential. Prescribed burns benefit the environment many ways and are one of the tools that can be used on a large scale to improve wild habitat. Natural resources management officials say prescribed burns help set back invasive species, and they burn up their seed banks. Burns also give native species an opportunity to compete against some of the non-native species, as many native species depend on fire to help stimulate them and set back non-native species. (U.S. Army Photo by Christopher Jones, Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office)  

FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, UNITED STATES

03.11.2024

Story by Christopher Jones 

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office           

Members of the Fort McCoy prescribed burn team oversee a prescribed burn Feb. 29, 2024, along the railroad tracks on South Post at Fort McCoy, Wis.

The post prescribed burn team includes personnel with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Emergency Services Fire Department; Directorate of Public Works (DPW) Environmental Division Natural Resources Branch; Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security; and the Colorado State University Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands, under contract with the post. Prescribed burns also improve wildlife habitat, control invasive plant species, restore and maintain native plant communities, and reduce wildfire potential.

Prescribed burns benefit the environment many ways and are one of the tools that can be used on a large scale to improve wild habitat. Natural resources management officials say prescribed burns help set back invasive species, and they burn up their seed banks.

Burns also give native species an opportunity to compete against some of the non-native species, as many native species depend on fire to help stimulate them and set back non-native species.

As the prescribed burn season continues into the spring, Fort McCoy leadership stated the post will continue performing prescribed burn operations where local conditions provide a safe and effective burn. Fort McCoy will also continue to carefully assess the most appropriate days to conduct prescribed burns.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at https://www.dvidshub.net/fmpao, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.”

Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”

• Date Taken: 03.11.2024
• Date Posted: 03.11.2024 16:36
• Story ID: 465930
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US