Flint Hills Ranchers Begin Annual Prairie Burns Under Watchful Eyes
The seasonal ritual of burning the tallgrass prairie returned to the Flint Hills, a practice ranchers say keeps the grassland healthy but that raises air quality concerns downwind.
Plumes of smoke once again rose over the Flint Hills this month as ranchers began the annual prairie burns that have shaped the tallgrass landscape for generations.
Controlled fire clears old growth, suppresses invasive brush, and spurs the tender new grass that fattens cattle through the summer. Ecologists say the tallgrass prairie, one of the last large remnants in North America, depends on periodic fire to survive.
But the burns also send smoke drifting toward cities as far away as Kansas City and beyond, occasionally pushing air quality into unhealthy ranges. State environmental officials work with ranchers on a coordinated burn schedule and smoke-management guidance to limit the impact.
"We are not burning to be reckless. We are burning because the prairie needs it," one Chase County rancher said. The window for burning is short, typically closing as the growing season begins in earnest.
