Shared Stewardship Approach Expands Prescribed Fire Program on the Shawnee National Forest
A shared stewardship approach has aided the Shawnee National Forest prescribed fire program to increase capacity and be more efficient with resources. In a regional approach to effect change on a landscape scale, public agencies, conservation groups, and private landowners have been working together to improve prairie and forest ecosystem health.
Through the Let the Sun Shine In project and other efforts, the Shawnee National Forest and its partners come together to address multiple needs in priority areas, such as forest health, insects/disease, invasive plant treatments, fuels & fire risk, and prescribed burning. In fiscal year 2021 this collaboration led to a historic prescribed fire season with over 23,000 acres burned across 11 counties in southern Illinois.
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