Lathrop Bayou Prescribed Burn ‘A Great Success’

LATHROP BAYOU, Fla. -- On Feb. 8, 2024, BLM Eastern States and its partners conducted a prescribed burn at Lathrop Bayou in the Florida Panhandle with a goal of reducing ground fuel vegetation over 561 acres of public and private land and improving the habitat for imperiled plants and animals. 

Flames lick at the base of slash pine trees in Lathrop Bayou, Fla. During a prescribed burn held by the Bureau of Land Management. The burn will improve the habitat for plants and wildlife in the area. (BLM photo by Bart Kicklighter)  

The burn was a combined effort that included Eastern States’ own Jackson Interagency Hotshot Crew, BLM Colorado’s Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire and Unaweep Wildland Fire Module, as well as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel from Tyndall Air Force Base, St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, and Panama City Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office. 

“The prescribed burn in Florida was a great success,” said BLM Eastern States State Fire Management Officer Bart Kicklighter. “We worked with two private landowners to accomplish 561 acres consisting of BLM-managed land and the adjoining private property. These lands provide habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, two active bald eagle nests, and numerous listed threatened and endangered plant species.”