Using Fire as a Tool: TVA Executes Controlled Burn on Douglas Dam Reservation

TVA Senior Land Condition Specialist Jack Muncy
Photo by Tom Satkowiak
Senior Strategic Communicator | East Region
Communications

Tom Satkowiak
Senior Strategic Communicator | East Region
Communications

Tom Satkowiak
Senior Strategic Communicator | East Region
Communications

A prescribed fire team from the Tennessee Valley Authority, along with representatives from the Tennessee Division of Forestry carried out a controlled burn Wednesday on TVA’s Douglas Dam Reservation.

Close to 40 acres located between the dam and its elevated overlook area were burned with coordinated precision as part of an ongoing effort to enhance a native ecosystem facing decades of flora invasion.

“A lot of folks might not know, but there are more than 35 different trees vines and shrubs that are invading the Southeast,” TVA Senior Land Condition Specialist Jack Muncy said. “They’re called invasive exotics, primarily introduced from Asia. Those invasive exotics are displacing not only native plants but native animals – everything from insects and the whole ecological web of life. So burns like this are extremely important for biodiversity and creating land health.”

The burn conducted at TVA’s Douglas Dam Reservation – on a designated pollinator habitat – recurs approximately every three years.

“We’ve eradicated some invasive exotics here, and we’ve reestablished a native plant community of grasses that were here more than 100 years ago. Part of that regimen of establishing these native grasses is using prescribed fire as a tool to increase the health and the vigor of those plants, because they’re –as we term it – a fire-adapted community.”

As the TVA fire crew executed its burn plan Wednesday, staff with the Tennessee Division of Forestry observed and provided regular weather updates via the crew’s radio communication system.

“Another term for ‘prescribed’ fire is ‘controlled’ fire, because you’re burning under controlled conditions,” Muncy said. “Today, we’re working closely with the Division of Forestry, ensuring that we’re in compliance with state laws.”

Wind conditions and relative humidity are among the many meteorological factors crews must monitor to ensure safety. Wednesday’s burn had initially been scheduled to take place the previous week, but weather conditions prevented the issuance of a burn permit that day.

“(TVA has) about 1,500 acres that we burn on public lands around our reservoirs in multiple states for biodiversity and numerous environmental benefits,” Muncy said. “Mother Nature used to utilize fire in this region every few years. Today, we’ve allowed our forests in many cases to go unmanaged, and that’s contributing to heavy fuel loading. So, in this case, we’re both reestablishing a plant community as well as properly managing the resource and being good stewards.”

Those who visit the Douglas Dam overlook in the days to come will see a vast swath of charred land as they look toward the water. But that eerie landscape visual will be relatively short lived.

“If you come back out here two to three weeks from now, you won’t see this blackened soil,” Muncy added. “You’ll see a classic example of Mother Nature showing good health.”