Prescribed Fire at Bluestem
According to the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, prairies once covered an estimated 7 to 10 million acres in the southeastern states. These habitats flourished in pre-colonial times, managed with fires ignited by lightning or intentionally set by Indigenous people. Today there is less than 1% of this important habitat left. ​
At Bluestem, our land stewardship mission is to protect and increase Southeast native grassland habitat. Prescribed fire is a vital tool in this work, helping us:
  • Recycle nutrients into the soil which promotes the growth of the native wildflowers and grasses in our fields.
  • Encourage the germination and flowering of native grasses and plants – including bluestem, larkspur tickseed and narrow-leaf sunflower -- that create habitat and food for wildlife like pollinators, songbirds and hawks.
  • Improve soil health with nutrients released by the heat, including calcium, potassium, magnesium and nitrogen.
  • Reduce competition from plants that squeeze out native species we want to encourage. ​
Bluestem performs controlled burns on a rotational basis in the grasslands. The past two years we have burned roughly 10-20 acres with scheduled fires in March 2023, and March 2024. Our third burn will take place in late Spring 2025. 
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January 2022 
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March 2023 
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March 2024 
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April 2025
Bluestem's controlled burns are carefully planned by staff, supported by a volunteer Burn Crew, and managed in coordination with a professional burn boss. Bluestem staff create the burn strategy, identifying and preparing the fields, and plans for their regeneration. We work with a professional service in scheduling and conducting the burn. For the past two years, Brandon Price of Atlantic Wildfire Resources has worked with us, applying for the burn permit, watching the weather, scheduling the burn day, and overseeing the work following strict safety protocols. Staff inform the neighbors and Bluestem families, close the preserve and arrange for volunteer Burn Crews to assist with the day-long process. On burn day, Brandon monitors field preparedness and weather conditions like wind and relative humidity while staff and volunteers keep watch over the fields. 
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Controlled burn in the Barn Field
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Tending the tree line
Learn more about saving grasslands in the Southeast here. 
Gratitude to Margot Lester, Master Naturalist and Bluestem Steward, for her prescribed fire assistance.
Header photo: Courtesy Jackie Rimmler