Prescribed Fire for Limestone Glade and Woodland Restoration on Fort Knox Military Installation

Fort Knox is home to several remnant glades scattered across the installation that have seen restoration efforts from the Natural Resources Branch.  The Cedar Creek Glade Complex is located in Hardin County and has a history of prescribed fire as well as cedar removal and invasive species control treatments.  These glades are a unique community that support a suite of rare & state-listed plants and are under threat of woody encroachment from both cedar and hardwood competition.  Prescribed fire is one management tool used within the glades to maintain their unique plant and animal communities.  A concentrated effort was initiated in 2016 to restore forest & glade connectivity to an open woodland condition on ~175 acres.  Midstory herbicide treatment followed by a commercial timber sale were the first management actions initiated to reduce forest stocking in 2017 and 2018. Although historical prescribed fires focused specifically on the glades themselves more recent fire objectives expanded to larger woodland units totaling 92 acres and 70 acres, respectively.  Each woodland unit has seen one fire (2020 and 2021) with burn rotations scheduled to take place every 2-3 years including both dormant season as well as late growing season rotations.  Successful woodland restoration will obviously take much more than a timber sale and a few prescribed fires but this field trip can provide a snapshot view of the processes as well as lead into other topics touching on glades, woodland restoration, forest management as well as prescribed fire practices.

Location: Fort Knox, Hardin Co. Led by: Fort Knox Natural Resources Branch Staff  Dates: July 25th Time: 9:00 am - 2:00 pm Eastern Time Materials needed: Field clothes, insect protection and sun protection. Please bring plenty of water and a lunch as there will be time set aside to eat. Maximum participants: 70

All participants will need to obtain a "5 Day Fast Pass", a visitors pass to the installation. A link and instructions will be sent out to registered participants the week before the event.