Game And Parks Hopes To Conduct Two Prescribed Burns On Friday

      If the weather cooperates, Nebraska Game and Parks plans to conduct prescribed burns Friday on the Bordeaux Wildlife Management Area east of Chadron and the Peterson WMA west and southwest of Fort Robinson State Park. 

      Agency spokesman Rick Arnold says weather conditions must be within a narrow range of criteria such as temperature, humidity, and wind for a burn to go forward, a decision that can’t be made until the last minute.

     Arnold says Game and Parks has been working with the U-S Forest Service to coordinate plans for several prescribed burns this spring.

      The Forest Service hopes to conduct a burn next week at the Slicker Allotment about 5 miles south of Chadron with Game and Parks hoping for at least 4 other Wildlife Management Areas.

     Those are Chadron Creek Ranch south of Chadron State Park, Bighorn and Ponderosa – both in the Pine Ridge near Crawford, and Gilbert-Baker north of Harrison.

      Land managers use prescribed burns to reduce the buildup of hazardous fuels and to slow or halt the invasion of undesirable plant species. Controlled fires also enhance vegetation used by birds for cover as well as nesting and rearing broods.