Fire and the Blackland Prairie

Controlled burning of protected Blackland Prairie

The critically endangered Blackland Prairie is but one of many North American habitats that rely on once natural fires to keep healthy. Eastern Red Cedar, also known as Juniper, is a native tree now classified as invasive. The historic fires once left little in the ways of woody vegetation after roaring through, but now plants like Juniper grow without constraint. The growth of these trees kill natives who no longer have access to light such as the grasses that live to burn.  The also have the indirect effect of causing worse allergies than would be historically present. The restoration of the grasslands, including the Blackland Prairie, which once covered the Great Plains, is an involved process, but certainly possible for landowners to achieve.