Controlled burn. Original public domain image from Flickr
Mashpee, Massachusetts, April 5, 2012. Fire once naturally cleared brush in pine barrens on Cape Cod. Here, a controlled burn on the Town of Mashpee Holland Hill Barrens area of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge clears overgrown brush under fire-resistant pitch pine trees. This reduces fire risk to neighboring homes and stimulates growth of oak stems, important for the rare New England cottontail. The burn was conducted by the Town of Mashpee, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, State of Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and Northeast Forest and Fire Management. Credit: Catherine J. Hibbard/USFWS. Original public domain image from Flickr