Prescribed burning at Prime Hook wildlife refuge March 8-19

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s zone fire staff, local fire departments and the Delaware Forest Service, began a landscape burning program on the refuge in March 2017.

This year’s plan includes a total of nearly 900 acres throughout the refuge including the headquarters area that will tentatively take place from Monday, March 8, through Friday March 19, contingent upon optimal burn conditions.

The purposes of this year’s burn will be to set back field succession to early stages benefitting grassland-dwelling birds, act against undesired non-native plant species, and remove accumulated wildland hazardous fuels as previously anticipated in the refuge’s Comprehensive Conservation Plan. The use of prescribed fire is an effective and cost-efficient method to accomplish these objectives. Trained prescribed burning specialists will conduct these burns.

Weather conditions such as rainfall, wind speed and wind direction will determine if and when the burning will occur. The Prime Hook Refuge website will be updated appropriately to inform the public about daily burn plans.

The Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge consists of more than 10,163 acres of marsh, forest and uplands along the Delaware Bay between Slaughter Beach and Broadkill Beach, east of Milton.

For more information, call 302-684-8419 or go to fws.gov/refuge/Prime_Hook.

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge is located just off Route 16 near Broadkill Beach at 11978 Turkle Pond Road, Milton.