By LISSA STROHECKER
Many of Florida’s ecosystems evolved with fire and today, the St. Johns River Water Management District (District) uses prescribed burning as one of its primary tools for restoring and maintaining the health of natural communities across over 437,000 acres of District lands. The Lochloosa Wildlife Conservation Area in Alachua County is one example of what can be achieved through long-term restoration built around returning fire to the ecosystem.
The District’s purchase of the property in 1994 marked the beginning of a long-term restoration effort. The land had historically been managed for silviculture, and the pattern of mounds and trenches that once nurtured tree seedlings was still visible. An ecologist would recognize that the landscape itself had changed. A dense canopy of pine, the tangle of understory brush beneath it and the thick layers of dead leaves, pine needles and other forest debris all told the same story: fire had not touched much of this landscape for decades.
“Many of Florida’s ecosystems are fire-dependent. The plants and animals that live in these ecosystems have adapted to tolerate fire, and some rely on it to sustain their populations,” said Jeremy Olson, a program manager in the District’s Bureau of Land Resources. He helps lead the land management program and the prescribed burning efforts throughout the District’s 18 counties. Every year, the District’s land resources team conducts prescribed burns across 30,000 to 50,000 acres as part of its stewardship efforts.
Prescribed fires are designed to mimic the effects of natural fires started by lightning. In Florida – the lightning strike capital of the United States – frequency is key; these fires would naturally happen every few years, often enough that fuel loads do not accumulate. The indigenous people of Florida saw how lightning shaped the landscape and in turn used fire to keep the almost constantly growing landscape at bay, easing travel and hunting efforts.
These actions shaped the ecology of Florida even more. Cyclical fires tend to be less intense, burning quickly and fading out. The District bases fire-return intervals for each ecosystem type on data sets for reference communities from the Florida Natural Areas Inventory (FNAI). In uplands, this fire cycle leads to a more open, park-like setting. In marshlands, fire maintains the marsh by keeping woody shrubs at bay.
Conditions for a prescribed burn have to be just right. Weather, soil moisture, site history and many other factors all play into whether a burn will proceed. “On average, we might have 40 possible burn days per year,” says Olson.
Sites with a long history of fire exclusion accumulate high fuel loads from dead vegetation, leaf litter and dense undergrowth. These sites require very specific conditions for a prescribed burn. Left unmanaged, the excess vegetation increases the risk of a wildfire that burns hot and spreads out of control. Prescribed burning reduces that risk by lowering those fuel loads, protecting both natural resources and neighboring communities.
That benefit was demonstrated at Lochloosa in May 2026, when a wildfire burned on the property. Areas that had been treated with prescribed fire around portions of the fire’s perimeter had lower fuel loads, helping firefighters manage the wildfire more effectively.
An ideal burn day for these areas includes some ground moisture and a forecast for rain in the coming days.
“Without that follow-up rain, a burn may smolder for days to weeks,” said Olson. Droughts, such as those experienced in 2025 and continuing still in 2026, limit the possible burn days even more. “I’m proud of our track record. We’ve kept staff and the public safe. There’s a high level of responsibility and courage involved in going out there and doing this safely to improve the natural communities.”
At Lochloosa, that work is visible. Through a combination of thinning pine trees, removing invasive species, planting native groundcover and the careful reintroduction of fire though prescribed burns, the District has brought the site closer to what these natural communities should be. More sunlight now reaches the forest floor, yielding a profusion of wildflowers where dense brush once stood. The system provides better habitat for the rare giant orchid, nesting bald eagles and gopher tortoises that call Lochloosa home. The seasonal marshes are cleared of encroaching brush and provide better habitat for the variety of wading birds and other wildlife that depend on them.
Throughout the District, prescribed burning remains one of the most effective tools for sustaining the natural communities under District management.
Learn more about the District’s use of fire in land management at www.sjrwmd.com/lands/management/prescribedfire.
Lissa Strohecker is Regional Media and Communications Coordinator at the St. Johns River Water Management District
