Fire as a Tool and Not a Threat
Post by Clemson student Riley Brennan
Before coming out West, I knew that prescribed fire was used to manage land, but I never realized how differently it is applied across the United States. Visiting ranches and discussing fire management made me think about how prescribed burning influences forage production, cattle grazing, and the long-term sustainability of rangelands. One of the biggest differences I noticed was that prescribed burning seems much more common in the eastern United States than in the West. This difference made me wonder why two regions that both depend on healthy grasslands manage fire so differently.
In the Southeast, prescribed burning is a normal part of land management. Many ranchers and landowners burn on a regular schedule to improve forage quality, control invasive plants, reduce woody encroachment, and lower the risk of destructive wildfires. After a burn, grasses often produce fresh green growth that is higher in nutritional quality and more attractive to grazing cattle. Livestock naturally seek out these recently burned areas because the forage is more digestible and contains more protein than older, mature vegetation. In this way, prescribed fire becomes an important management tool that benefits both cattle production and the health of the ecosystem. We saw this firsthand at Brosnan back in South Carolina with their management along with the Pineywoods cattle.
What surprised me was that prescribed burning did not appear to be nearly as common on many of the western landscapes we visited. When we visited TNC’s Matador ranch, they said they hadn’t used fire on the land since 2017 but have been thinking about bringing it back onto the land. I saw many areas with large amounts of old vegetation and woody plants that had built up over time. This is a big issue for the risk of wildfires as there is more fuel on the ground. While prescribed fire is used in some western states, it seems much less common than it is in the East. Part of this difference is public perception. Many people immediately associate fire with destruction rather than recognizing that low-intensity prescribed fire can actually improve ecosystem health. Without a good understanding of how prescribed fire works, it can be difficult to gain public support for using it as a management tool. We talked with the DNRC and how they are working to spread public awareness about the impacts prescribed burning can have.
I also learned that public education is only part of the story. Prescribed burning in the West faces many additional challenges. Dry conditions, unpredictable winds, large fuel accumulations from decades of fire suppression, smoke regulations, and concerns about liability all make prescribed burns more difficult to conduct safely. These challenges make land managers understandably cautious, even though they recognize the ecological benefits of fire.
The connection between fire and forage quality was one of the most interesting things I have learned during this course. Fire removes old plant material and allows new growth to emerge. That fresh growth provides higher-quality forage for cattle while also stimulating many
native grass species. Instead of viewing fire as something that only destroys vegetation, I now understand that it can renew grasslands and improve livestock production when applied under the right conditions. This is a perfect example of how agricultural production and natural resource conservation can support one another rather than compete.
Thinking about sustainability, prescribed burning represents much more than simply setting fire to a pasture. Sustainability means maintaining productive rangelands for future generations while protecting wildlife habitat, water resources, and the economic viability of ranches. Fire has shaped these ecosystems for thousands of years, long before modern ranching existed. Excluding fire completely changes the landscape by allowing shrubs, trees, and excessive fuel to accumulate. The DNRC mentioned that conifer encroachment has become a big issue that they are facing and they are trying to use thinning and mastication as a tool to control this. In many cases, restoring periodic fire is actually restoring a natural ecological process.
After seeing these landscapes firsthand, I have come to appreciate fire in a completely different way. I no longer think of prescribed burning simply as a way to prevent wildfires. Instead, I see it as a tool that improves forage for cattle, supports native ecosystems, and helps sustain working ranches. While the East has embraced prescribed fire more readily than many areas of the West, I believe that continued education, scientific research, and collaboration among stakeholders can help restore fire to its important role in creating sustainable agricultural and natural resource systems.
