Croatan Institute Associate James Smith recently attended the annual Prescribed Burning training provided by the NC Forest Service and will soon be assisting landowners with writing prescribed burn plans, a key step toward implementing a burn on their properties.  

Prescribed burning is one of the most cost-effective tools for promoting healthy forests and grasslands and has been used for millennia in the US by indigenous groups as a land management tool. 

In our forests and grasslands in the Southeast, fire is still underutilized, evident in the congested, even age hardwood and pine stands we often see while our pastures and grasslands battle pressure from invasive species. Prescribed fire can be used to reduce future fire hazards, promote biodiversity, reduce plant competition, and promote the germination of fire-adapted species. 

This work will directly support our Soil Health and Water Quality Cohort, funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which aims to assist private landowners across North Carolina with identifying funding mechanisms to implement cover cropping, prescribed burning, reduced tillage, prescribed burning, native grassland establishment, and managed grazing.

The low intensity understory burn shown in the pictures was conducted by the NC Forest Service at Falls Lake in early May 2026 during the training and helped reduce the competition between understory trees such as red maple, sweetgum, and tulip poplar while promoting the oak-pine overstory. 

You can learn more about the Soil Health and Water Quality project here. Eligible producers in North Carolina can submit the interest form on the webpage to apply to participate in this current cohort.