None The Nature Conservancy in New York Press Releases Search All Press Releases Ellen Weiss Phone: (914) 244-3271 ext. 21 Email: eweiss@tnc.org

Nature Conservancy Conducts Prescribed Burn at Nellie Hill Preserve

Goal is to protect native and rare species.

Dover, NY — April 16, 2008 — Last Tuesday (April 15th), the Eastern New York Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, along with rangers from the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)  and fire specialists from the Albany Pine Bush Preserve (APB), conducted a “prescribed burn” at the Conservancy-owned Nellie Hill Preserve on State Route 22 in Dover, Dutchess County.

Managed by this team of highly trained and experienced wildland firefighters, the burn succeeded in reducing the coverage of invasive plant species such as multiflora rose, oriental bittersweet and barberry and minimized accumulated thatch; all of which threaten the rare plants and natural communities found at the Preserve.  In addition, DEC and APB provided the extensive equipment necessary to safely conduct the controlled fires, including engines, ATVs, hand tools, hose, drip torches and other safety equipment.

“It’s great working with The Nature Conservancy on wildland fires,” says Captain Dan Walsh with the DEC.  “They’re a top-notch conservation organization with bright, enthusiastic people and we really work well together in supporting the need for controlled burns in critical areas and wildfire suppression efforts throughout New York State. It's really rewarding and motivating when partnerships come together to get important, but challenging work done.”

A prescribed burn is just as is sounds – a prescription for ecological and meteorological conditions that must be met in order to safely begin and maintain the burn process.  Certain conditions such as air temperature, wind speed and direction and relative humidity are constantly monitored and if the conditions fall “out of prescription,” the burn is called off.

Although the burn crew at Nellie Hill was prepared to manage a total of approximately eight acres, the controlled fire was shut down after about four acres were burned due to a decrease in humidity that put the burn out of prescription.

Adds Katie Dolan, Executive Director of the Eastern New York Chapter, “Nellie Hill Preserve is a lovely hilltop oasis and home to some rare plants, including Torrey’s mountain mint and blazing star.  A prescribed fire maintains open habitat and provides better conditions for these native and rare species. Congratulations to the burn crew for an outstanding effort.”

Nellie Hill Preserve supports a network of hiking trails that meander through 144 acres of open grasslands and a diversity of forests.  The preserve also supports 11 different rare plant species and two rare natural communities, including a calcareous red cedar barrens and red cedar rocky summit.  These unique plants and natural communities and the animals that depend on them would not survive without occasional disturbance such as fire. In 2003 and 2004, The Nature Conservancy successfully conducted several controlled burns on the preserve. However, for the rare plants and red cedar barrens to fully benefit from fire, its effects need to be repeated.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy's Eastern New York Chapter on the Web at www.nature.org/eny