Feel the Burn

On a cool Tuesday in December, folks fond of Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge could be forgiven for feeling alarm at the sight of plumes of smoke rising into the sky above Lake Pontchartrain. But all was in hand; U.S. Fish & Wildlife officials were conducting a controlled burn, setting fires across a 75-acre peninsula within the refuge to rid it of invasive species such as European cordgrass and Chinese tallow that compete for space and resources with native species. “The cordgrass, Chinese tallow, mother-in-Law’s tongue, Mexican bromeliads—they’re all suppressed by a burn, because they’re not meant to burn the way our native species are,” said Becky Larkins, Supervisory Refuge Ranger at Big Branch Marsh. While it might seem counterintuitive, the pine flatwoods, oak ridges, and marsh grasses of coastal Louisiana are adapted to fire, since dry season blazes started by lightning strikes are a natural part of the area’s ecology. “So fire controls invasives because they’re not adapted to fire,” she explained. 

According to Larkins, it’s not only native plant species that benefit from controlled burns such as this one, but animals too. “After a burn the wild turkeys do great,” she noted. “Because when the area is opened up, the mature trees drop a lot of seeds. New-sprouted grasses are more nutrient-rich for wildlife because mature grass doesn’t put as much energy into the blade. We see it in raccoons, muskrat, white-tailed deer; they all do better after a burn for the next two to three years.”

Larkins explained that the native plants are what healthy native animal species depend upon to survive. “Native species are what the wildlife adapts to,” she noted. “If they don’t have it, they’ll go elsewhere.” Mimicking natural cycles, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service schedules controlled burns in fall, away from South Louisiana’s peak migration or bird breeding seasons. In the months following the burn, visitors to Big Branch Marsh can expect to see a bonanza of birdlife as migrating waterfowl begin arriving back into Louisiana in January and February. Larkins suggests you keep your eyes peeled for pelicans, red knots, snowy plovers, interior leaf terns, and all sorts of shorebirds. fws.gov/refuge/big_branch_marsh or (985) 882-2000.