Forest management is practiced widely every Saturday morning

Mark Brian
by Mark Brian, Senior Vice President

When you mow your lawn, you are keeping your property in a grass-herbaceous state. When you stop mowing, your yard continues the process of recolonizing woody plants. Forestlands are the same. We humans take actions to manipulate the vegetative structure on the land and call it forest management.

In the past, our forests were subject to one or more agents of management that are, for the most part, absent in today’s forest. Fire, bison, and elk with Indians were followed by fire and cattle with European settlers. Forests regenerated by happenstance competing with vegetation had at least some level of control provided by burning and grazing. The closing of the open range mid-century brought fences for the cattle and government-sponsored fire control. Planting of forest trees for economic gain began, and fire was given a bad rap by Smokey Bear.

Today we keep fire out of our forests to protect young trees and infrastructure, and woodland grazing is becoming a dim memory. When wildfires occur, the massive buildup of woodland fuels results in catastrophic, unnatural fire damage. Plus, the toll on our desirable trees from intense competition for water and nutrients is an unseen enemy robbing landowners of the economic growth of their asset.

Mike Bird, Texas Certified Burn Manager

Prescribed burning is a time-proven tool that provides control of undesirable species to protect timber assets from severe wildfire and growth-stealing competition while promoting a wide array of fire-dependent plants and improving wildlife habitat.

The need is the same as mowing the yard, it must be repeated in order to bring about meaningful benefits. Generally, a three-year burning cycle is sufficient to realize those wide-ranging benefits.

And, like cutting your lawn, the woods look better when your management program includes a prescribed burn program enhancing forest benefits such as recreational enjoyment.


Bird Forestry can assist with prescribed burning, timber sales and providing all aspects of forestland management on your property. We have been managing family forest lands and marketing forest products for our clients for more than 40 years, and we understand the importance of your forestland assets. Let us help you set and reach your forest and land management goals.

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