Prescribed fire (Rx) is essential for maintaining the rare pine rockland ecosystem of South Florida and after five years Rx fire has finally returned to the National Key Deer Refuge (NKDR). The NKDR is home for an array of imperlied and unique species of flora and fuana including the Key Deer, Big Pine Partrige Pea, and the Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit.

Key Deer Doe

Improving Key Deer habitat and fuel reduction have been the driving causes of Rx fires that have been conducted for the last fifty years on the Refuge. The effort at times has not had the support of the current management or the community, but fire has been regularly documented to have positive impacts on Key Deer bowse quality and plant diversity.

The Bartram's Hairstreak, a candidate for the endangered species list, depends on pineland croton (both seen in image) to reproduce. Croton requires sunlight which is consumed by competing shrubs when fire is suppressed from pine rocklands. Pre and post fire monitoring are being conducted to document the response of both the hairstreak and the croton plant to prescribed fire.

August 21, 2009 with cooperation for the National Park Serice, Monroe County, the Missoula Fire Lab, and Forestry, FWS conducted a sucessful burn which reduced dangerous fuel loads to the adjacent Kohen subdivision, helped to provide fresh forage for herbivores such as the Key Deer, and improved habitats for rare plants such as Wedge Spurge and Blodgett's Wild Mercury

First Iginition

Slow, light ground fires offer plenty of opportunity for wildlife to escape

Burn Boss Jon Wallace patrols the unit

Heavy palm fuels cause moments of flare-up

Line Boss and Burn Boss make the calls

Consumed fuels help to recycle nutrients back into the rocklands and unearth fresh seed beds previously trapped under layers of duff