Prescribed burn set for today in Scrub Oak Preserve

Volusia County’s Resource Stewardship Division will conduct a 14-acre prescribed burn beginning at 10 a.m. today in Scrub Oak Preserve, DeLand.

The burn, which will take place south of McGregor and Fatio roads, will require the temporary closure of the preserve’s blue trail.

Historically, nature provided all the tools needed to maintain healthy habitats of natural lands. With the advent of fire suppression, fragmentation due to development, exotic species and user impacts, most natural lands are overgrown. Human intervention is now needed to provide the factors necessary for a healthy habitat.

To restore and maintain the diversity of the ecosystems, prescribed fire is one of the many tools Volusia County uses to manage conservation lands. Prescribed fire has many benefits, such as eliminating dry and overgrown vegetation, reducing the risk of wildfires, increasing seeding, fruiting and forage quality in plants, and improving wildlife habitats. While other land management treatments are sometimes used, prescribed fire is the most effective, because of the complex chemical, biological and physical processes that fire stimulates.

For more information about prescribed burns, visit volusia.org/prescribed-burning.