COURT HOUSE - New Jersey Audubon and the New Jersey Forest Fire Service have planned a prescribed burn at the Hovnanian Sanctuary, located in Berkeley Township.

The burn is scheduled to occur on or before March 15; the exact date will depend on weather conditions. Prescribed burning is part of New Jersey Audubon’s management plan for the 513-acre Hovnanian Sanctuary. New Jersey Audubon is concerned about the integrity of the Pine Barrens ecosystem and is implementing an ecological forest management project that addresses best practices for Pinelands forests. This Sanctuary is being managed to improve habitat for native Pinelands species, including several of conservation concern. Prescribed fire will assist in achieving those goals.

The primary purpose of prescribed burning in New Jersey is to reduce hazardous accumulations of forest fuels such as underbrush. This aids in the prevention of wildfires, reduces the intensity of the fires, and also provides a foundation for safer, more effective fire suppression and protection operations.

The burn will take place within 100 acres of forest at the Hovnanian Sanctuary that was thinned in 2011 under New Jersey Audubon’s supervision. A trained crew will carry out the burn, and the fire will be monitored by the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

"In addition to protecting communities, prescribed fire also helps support a healthy and productive forest," said Lynn E. Fleming, New Jersey State Forester. "Healthy forests provide the surrounding community with important benefits such as clean air and water."

This is an important step in the management plan that New Jersey Audubon has implemented for this tract, according to Jean Lynch, Stewardship Project Director for New Jersey Audubon. "It works out nicely that in this fire-dependent ecosystem, management steps such as thinning and burning will benefit both the local community and the natural community," Lynch added.

Michael Drake, Acting New Jersey State Fire Warden, added that prescribed burning on private lands supports the New Jersey Forest Fire Services' goal to reduce the unsafe buildup of forest underbrush. "Setting prescribed fires here during the winter will help safeguard nearby homes and Double Trouble State Park during the dry and windy conditions of peak fire season in early spring," he said.

For more information on prescribed burnings, please visit http://www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/fire/whm-burning.htm

For more information on the New Jersey Audubon, please visit www.njaudubon.org