SILVER LINING, DARK CLOUDS
Freeze created ideal conditions for controlled burn
A silver lining to last month’s winter storm: It created ideal conditions for a prescribed burn of the coastal tall grass prairie in La Marque.
The University of Houston Coastal Center burned two sections of prairie Saturday morning, a tool that promotes biodiversity, minimizes invasive species and makes the area more less prone to flooding than by using just mowing or herbicides.
“Anything that was green turned brown and was ready to be burned,” said Evelyn Merz, UHCC program director, about the prairie after the winter storm. “We’re doing this, so the timing is just right so that when the growing season begins, we’re not going to be getting in the way.”
Gabriel Durham, UH’s sustainability coordinator, described the prairie as a Walmart for migratory birds. The prairies also have grasses with roots that grow 3 to 4 feet into the ground, which he described as an upside-down rainforest that absorbs an abundant amount of rain.
“They pull more carbon out of the atmosphere than trees do any they put it further down in the ground, out of the atmosphere, and then when it urns, it doesn’t get released back up into the air,” said Durham. “It stays underground.”
The prairie grass does the same thing with water — it pulls it underground, holding 15 times more wa
“Anything that was green turned brown and was ready to be burned.” Evelyn Merz, UHCC program director, about the prairie after the winter storm
ter in the soil than normal grass, according to Durham. By conducting prescribed burns, they are allowing the grass to essentially strengthen and continue absorbing rainwater, helping area flooding.
Not every rain is going to be a 40-inch rain, said Merz, but prairies like the ones at the UHCC can help mitigate the effect of heavy rain, and help reverse the effects of climate change as well.
“A lot of people maybe don’t appreciate prairies, they’re not just places where you have wonderful biodiversity and provide a home for pollinators which benefit us all,” said Merz. “But prairies, by their nature, have certain functions that benefits humanity as well. They provide natural protection.
The La Marque Fire Department, led by Fire Captain Brennan Briggs, used propane torches to burn segments of the prairie, while Coastal center volunteers where close by to make sure the fire didn’t spread to parts they didn’t want burned.
The burns are also training opportunities for the firefighters to study the weather and to manage a fire in a controlled environment to help them learn how to respond to wildfires.
According to Merz, doing a prescribed burn can cost anywhere from $900 to $2,000 a day. The center expects the grass to grow back stronger than ever within a week. of Saturday’s burn.
Where and when burns are conducted depends on the direction of the wind so smoke doesn’t reach populated areas. Because the UHCC is near a city, they can’t burn the prairie all at once and create a large cloud of smoke that would create a hazard for roads and homes.
“Most of La Marque’s population lives to the east,” said Briggs. “So as long as we can keep a wind from that direction, it pushes the smoke in an opposite way away from the houses. “