Birth and Regrowth Follow Corkscrew Prescribed Fire in Florida

Fire is a critical force driving the ecology of South Florida. Historically sparked by cloud-to-ground lightning strikes or ignited by Indigenous peoples, frequent fire reduces fuel loads, protecting people and property while supporting a diverse landscape that helps wildlife thrive. At Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples, a variety of habitats and wildlife evolved to depend on fire. With primary goals of reducing hazardous fuels and maintaining a healthy ecosystem, prescribed fire is an important tool in the conservation team’s toolbox for managing the 13,000-acre Sanctuary. Audubon staff burn hundreds of acres of pine flatwoods, wet prairie, and marsh each year.

A variety of animals also rely on fire to open areas for travel and to provide a source of new growth for foraging, especially white-tailed deer, Florida black bear, and several species of birds. Fire creates essential habitat for Wild Turkeys, which forage for insects in burned areas. But few birds are as fire-dependent as the Northern Bobwhite. Known as “fire birds,” these quail rely on the nesting cover and regrowth of native grasses that fire brings. With an increase in fire frequency in recent years, bobwhites are being seen more frequently in the Sanctuary and active nests were found this year for the first time in decades. 

 Many Floridians know prescribed fire is important, not only for habitat health, but to protect our communities from catastrophic wildfire. 

– Allyson Webb, Land Stewardship Manager

While lightning-strike-induced fire has shaped Florida’s landscapes for millennia, natural fires today are extinguished quickly due to the growing presence of human communities in fire-prone locations. The benefits of prescribed fire extend well beyond wildlife habitat. Using frequent, low-intensity fires to prevent high-intensity wildfires is one of the most important things Audubon can do for wildlife and people.

This article was published in the 2026 Summer Naturalist.