Over 1,000-acre burn restores habitat, mitigates wildfire in Panhandle
Earlier this week, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever team members, alongside volunteers and numerous partners, executed a prescribed fire on nearly 1,000 acres outside Spearman, Texas.
Located on the northern edge of the Texas Panhandle, the property is owned by the Palo Duro Water Authority. The burn will boost the long-term health of wildlife habitat on the property, which is home to numerous upland, big game and non-game species — including pheasants, bobwhite quail, scaled quail, whitetail deer and mule deer.
Just as important, the burn also helps mitigate wildfire risk for the future in an area of the country that was recently impacted by historic fires. Last February, wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma burned over one million acres, causing catastrophic property damage and taking the lives of Americans. Prescribed fire is the best tool landowners and conservationists have to prevent such events, by reducing the fuel load of an area and creating buffer strips that act as a barrier against approaching wildfire. The results of these buffer strips in the face of an oncoming fire can be profound, as was the case in Borger, Texas this spring.
Watch - Lake Palo Duro Enhances Habitat with Growing Season Prescribed Burn - 2024
Burns of this scale are a massive, multi-day undertaking that require the help of numerous partners. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever would like to thank all of the participating volunteers for their vital collaboration in helping restore a significant piece of wildlife habitat in Texas, while creating a safer future for surrounding communities.
Photo and Video Credit: Cole Fagen Videography