Album: 2017 Pardee Field Prescribed Fire

Gettysburg National Military Park

A successful prescribed fire was conducted on Pardee Field in April 2017. This area of the park was selected for a prescribed burn because it was an open area at the time of the battle and woody shrubs and invasive species had reclaimed the fields and open areas of the slope. This prescribed fire will aid in managing the vegetation in this area. This area was open at the time of the battle and without treatment, woody vegetation can quickly establish itself and grow into dense woods. The park uses numerous methods to maintain these historically open areas such as prescribed fires, mowing, and herbicide sprays. Of these three tools, prescribed fires are the more cost effective and ecological way to manage woody vegetation. Prescribed fires kill off many of the woody shrubs and invasive species that begin reclaiming these historically open areas while native grasses, which can sometimes be mistaken as weeds, provide habitat and prevent erosion.