Monitoring Report Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park

Kneipp, Gregg

The area consists of seven fields for a total of 130 acres. 35.8 acres were burned on April 28, 2006. The remaining fields were to be burned the next week, but due to green-up, it was decided not to burn anymore this year. These areas are usually bush-hogged by park maintenance one to two times a year. The purposes of the burn are to reduce brushy fuels to open up the historic scene, open up and maintain vistas, and promote the growth of native tall grasses, so that park maintenance will no longer need to use time, equipment, and fuel to maintain these open fields, and so that park visitors can get a feeling for the battlefield as it was during the Civil War. The area to be burned is located in the Spotsylvania Courthouse Unit of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The unit is partially surrounded by blacktop road and is fuel model 1 and 3. The area consists of warm season native grasses, cool season exotic grasses, and shrub/scrub to a height of 4-6 feet. A climax forest in this area is oak/hickory.