The Atlantic Coast Conservancy (ACC) conducted a controlled burn on the 85 acre Potts Mountain Burial Ground located on Steve Tate Highway in eastern Pickens County this past weekend. The commenced at approximately 0900 on Sunday morning (23MAR25) and was concluded by 1130.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GaDNR) calls prescribed fire “a safe way to apply a natural process, ensure ecosystem health and reduce wildfire risk on public and private lands”. Also called prescribed or controlled burning, these monitored events involve trained professionals who operate under a set of specific fuel and weather conditions called a “prescription”. Wind direction determines where smoke will go and atmospheric stability helps predict how well smoke will rise and clear the area. Following a prescription provides an opportunity to manage the smoke responsibly.

Prescribed fire is carefully planned and implemented to be as safe as possible. The Potts Mountain controlled burn was supervised by Certified SAF Forester John Stivers, whose company Tanyard Timber, provides landowners with forestry consulting services including prescribed burning, reforestation, and timber sales. Stivers serves as the President of the Central Alabama Prescribed Burn Association (CAPBA) and is registered to work in both Alabama and Georgia.

The ACC Staff, under the tutelage of Stivers, ran interior strips across the upland tract after blacking-in the perimeter. Stivers remarked, “These guys did really well, built great fire lines with dozer sweeping roads/trails and pushed new line on north and south end through some pine thickets, prepped around lots of snags, ate some smoke and walked the torches to advance the fire across the burn unit rapidly to get the smoke up in the air and sent it downwind all before noon.”

In keeping with the mission of the ACC “to provide 21st century solutions and sound scientific applications for conservation of critical natural resources in the face of a changing climate focusing on the Southeastern United States with specific utilization of geographic information systems applications in land conservation, ecosystem services, carbon sequestration and conservation biology”, the prescribed burn on a portion of the 1,400 acre Potts Mountain Biological Field Station property helps support the organization’s conservation objectives.

Prescribed fire is used for a number of reasons including ecosystem restoration and maintenance, reducing wildfire risk, site preparation for tree planting, and enhancing the
aesthetics of and access to natural areas. Many plants and animals depend on fire. In fact, rare wildlife including gopher tortoises and red-cockaded woodpeckers depend on fire-adapted habitats. Studies show that the long-term use of prescribed fire can reduce tick populations along with tick-carried diseases that affect people.

Early American settlers found Native Americans using fire in virgin pine stands and adopted the practice to provide better access, improve hunting, and to remove brush and timber for
farming. Land managers have used fire since the early 1900s.

Without fire, trees and brush grow too thick, shading out plants on the forest floor and limiting which animals and plants can thrive there. Prescribed fire also consumes downed limbs, dead trees and