Lighting the Way for a New Meadow
- Beth Sheppard
- Mar 10
- 3 min read
The temperature at the Libertytown Branch tract just outside Berlin read 27 degrees Fahrenheit and with a biting windchill it felt closer to 16. But for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources burn crew gathered on site at 9 a.m. on February 13, those numbers were simply part of the equation.
Under a breezy blue sky, the DNR team launched the first prescribed burn of 2026 at the Chesapeake Forest tract, a carefully managed fire that would spend the better part of the day reshaping the land in preparation for an improved pollinator grassland meadow.
A Patient, Well-Orchestrated Process
Prescribed burning is not a matter of striking a match and stepping back. The groundwork began weeks earlier, when crews trenched a perimeter burn line to contain the fire before the day ever arrived. On the morning of the burn, the team gathered for a full meeting, assigned tasks, and worked through meticulous preparation. Wind direction was tested and retested. Water tanks were filled by pumping directly from the stormwater pond on site. Fuel loads were measured, and drip torches were filled with a mixture of diesel and gasoline, diesel burns less rapidly than gasoline, allowing crews to regulate the intensity of the flame. The torches themselves are fitted with a circular metal wand that prevents fire from traveling back into the portable tank.
Fire squad trucks, side-by-side UTVs, and a dozer with a bucket were staged and ready. By the end of the day, one crew member had tracked over 9 miles on foot, a testament to the relentless back-and-forth grid patterns the work demands.
The first sign of smoke didn't appear until 11 a.m.
Based on wind direction the burn began near the original Bay Club parking lot, now little more than rubble, adjacent to existing ponds that were in need of vegetative clearing. Radios crackled with instructions as the crew moved in deliberate sequence, working through dry grasses, mixed briars, and understory first before allowing heat to reach the base layer. That progression is intentional: burning down to the soil is precisely what prepares the ground for new seeding.
Knowing When to Burn
The decision to burn on any given day is never simple. Burn Boss Ryan Galligan and his crew weigh a precise set of variables before lighting off: wind direction, wind speed at eye level, relative humidity, air temperature, and the number of days since the last measurable precipitation. All of these factors must align within acceptable ranges before a single spark is struck.
"On the lower shore we saw a need for prescribed burns on private and local government properties, so I began leading those prescribed burns. Over time with rotational prescribed burning we can decrease invasive plants, promote native species, and better wildlife habitat." - Ryan Galligan, Burn Boss, Maryland DNR (burn bossing since 2021)
Restoration Through Fire
The goal of this burn extends well beyond a single day's work. By clearing the ground layer, the crew has set the stage for a new native grassland meadow - a habitat that will be seeded, mowed, and managed through the seasons ahead. The vision is ambitious: thriving habitat for grassland birds, Monarch butterflies, native bees and wasps, and the full web of insects that depend on a healthy meadow ecosystem.
Rotational prescribed burning, applied consistently over time, also works to suppress invasive plant species while giving native vegetation the competitive advantage it needs to establish. The process involves seeding, mowing, invasive management, and continued seasonal maintenance, a long game played in close partnership with the land.
A Proud Partnership
Lower Shore Land Trust is proud to be working alongside the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Chesapeake Forest Tract foresters. This collaboration brings together a well-trained staff of Forest Management crew members united by a shared commitment to the land.
The work at this Chesapeake Forest MD-owned property reflects a deeper mission: to conserve and restore a natural order of mixed habitat, and Lower Shore Land Trust’s goal to educate the community about stewardship and the interconnectedness of all species from the oldest oak to the small tadpole in the restored wetland pools.
As the crew worked toward dusk on February 13, fire in moderation proved once again to be one of the most powerful tools in the land manager's kit. Keep an eye out this spring for the first green signs of what this burn is making possible.
