Educational Resources - Kansas Flint Hills Smoke Management

Smoke Management   |   Prescribed Burn Planning   |   Research   |   Prescribed Burning Events

Smoke Management
Education>Burning Safety Equipment All rangeland fires produce smoke which can be detrimental to air quality for thousands of people as smoke is carried away from the burned area. Fire Management Practices (FMPs) attempt to reduce the negative effects of smoke that impact air quality, visibility, health, and safety. FMPs reduce smoke-related air quality problems in three ways: by avoiding smoke movement into sensitive areas; diluting smoke concentrations through management and planning; and reducing the total amount of smoke produced.

Smoke Modeling

Prescribed Burning
A prescribed burn is conducted to meet specific management objectives. Native Americans are thought to have used fire on what are now Kansas grasslands for the past millenia for some of the same reasons rancher use fire today, such as providing high quality forage for food animals and reducing woody plant encroachment into grasslands.

Reasons for burning
Prescribed burns can have one or more objectives. Not all objectives can be met with the same burn regimen, but often a single burn can accomplish multiple objectives. Prescribed burning objectives could be the following:

⇒Increase desirable vegetation
⇒Decrease undesirable vegetation
⇒Improve grazing distribution
⇒Enhance livestock performance
⇒Improve plant vigor: litter and thatch removal
⇒Manipulate wildlife habitat
⇒Maintain prairie ecosystem
⇒Reduce wildfire severity
⇒Comply with CRP contract requirements
⇒Prepare seedbed

Prescribed Burn Planning Information
A burn plan is a document and accompanying map that outline in detail how the burn will be conducted. Careful planning reduces the risk of fire escapes and increases the chances that management objectives are met