North Carolina is well known for its lush expanse of longleaf pine forests. In fact, the sap from these trees is how it got its nickname: The Tar Heel State.
It’s a species of tree that evolved through fire and needs that fire to survive. That’s why organizations like the Nature Conservancy conduct controlled burns to mimic the natural fires that historically moved through the landscape and shaped such a unique ecosystem.
Not all fire is destructive, sometimes it’s used to do good. For the southeastern longleaf pine forest, it’s actually essential.
“The longleaf ecosystem evolved with fire,” explained Debbie Maurer, the Southeast Coastal Plain Program Director for the Nature Conservancy. “And essentially, without fire, you can’t have a healthy longleaf pine forest.”
That’s why organizations like the Nature Conservancy conduct frequent controlled burns throughout the region. It’s all in an effort to help restore the longleaf pine ecosystem. These fires are different from wildfires because every single aspect of it is under control.
“From smoke, to the ecological effects, to adjacent lands, future weather, past weather,” Maurer said. “You’re thinking of so many different things to try to create a plan that ensures, reduces the risk of fire going to an unintended place.”
Maurer has been participating in burns like this for 20 years.
“I started my career burning in the prairies of the Midwest and the oak woodlands and cut my teeth there,” Maurer said. “Came down to southeast North Carolina about five years ago and have had the pleasure to work in the longleaf pine ecosystem, which is absolutely amazing.”
Like the longleaf pines, many other plants in their ecosystem also need fire to help create their ideal growing habitat. One of those plants is the iconic Venus flytrap, which only grows within a 70-mile radius around Wilmington.
“So in our moister longleaf pine savannahs that are well managed and burned, we have very healthy populations of Venus flytrap,” Maurer said. “And they actually respond to growing season fire by putting up more flowers the next growing season, so they actually have a positive response.”
Controlled burns are also a way to fight fire with fire. Maurer says these burns can help stop the spread of wildfires.
“You don’t get to choose the conditions of a wildfire, you get to choose the conditions, the ecological effects. You don’t get to choose where the smoke goes,” Maurer said. “And that’s why in many cases you can utilize controlled burning to mitigate where a wildfire could burn in the future by reducing those fuels.”
The Nature Conservancy says longleaf pine forests used to stretch from Texas to Virginia covering over 90 million acres. Now, just 3% of that remains. These controlled burns are an essential step in restoring the health of these ecosystems. Maurer says she’s proud to help fuel that effort.
“Returning fire to these places that haven’t seen fire and seeing the health and the diversity of these systems return over the past 20 to 25 years,” Maurer said. “That is deeply rewarding because I care about it, and I feel like that we’re doing is not only good for these natural communities, these plants and these animals, but it benefits our human society as well.”
The Nature Conservancy says it begins controlled burning in January and wraps up the season around August. Without these controlled burns, the Nature Conservancy says longleaf pines would disappear, along with red-cockaded woodpeckers, Venus flytraps and other carnivorous rare plants that need fire to survive.