Friends of Fire Southern Fire Exchange

This episode continues the discussion on Wild Turkeys and Prescribed Fire with Jay Cantrell and Dr. Michael Chamberlain. We discuss challenges of managing for wild turkeys, public perception of prescribed fire’s effect on turkeys, the effect of growing season / nesting season fires on turkey habitat and survival, potential effects of climate change on the bird, and the benefits and challenges of managers and researchers working together.

This is part 1 of a 2-part discussion where Jay Cantrell (Assistant Big Game Program Coordinator with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources) and Dr. Michael Chamberlain (Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia) discuss the relationship between Eastern Wild Turkeys and prescribed fire. In this episode we cover turkey population history, recent population declines and the potential causes, how to best manage for wild turkeys, and more.

Dr. Ajay Sharma, a researcher with the University of Florida, and Shan Cammack, a practitioner with GA DNR, discuss what happens when fire is removed from a fire adapted ecosystem, best management practices of reintroducing fire into long unburned pine ecosystems, the challenges and risks of the process, the "duff problem," and more.

Duffbuster 3000 Tutorial Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIHf5ttJE10

Fact Sheet - Reintroducing Fire Into Long-Unburned Pine Stands: The Duff Problem:
https://southernfireexchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2018-4.pdf

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