Prescribed burns planned for protected land
Monday, August 17, 2020 by Tai Moses
About 450 acres of the city’s Water Quality Protection Lands in Hays County are expected to be the site of prescribed burning from August to November. These lands, part of the WQPL program, are managed by Austin Water’s Wildland Conservation Division and are critical “for the quality and quantity of water recharging the Edwards Aquifer, which provides water to both Barton Springs and to groundwater wells in Hays and Travis Counties,” according to an announcement. The conservation division’s Luke Ball explained that prescribed burning “is one of the strategies used to manage these lands and protect groundwater in Central Texas. Prescribed burns improve the resiliency of our land when they are used as a planned seasonal management tool.” The carefully managed fires mimic the natural fire cycle and help restore the ecosystem as well as reduce the risk of uncontrolled and destructive wildfires. Sign up here to receive periodic notifications about planned prescribed burns on the wildlands.
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