Bees, prairie among Environmental Assets Section's Responsibilities

  • Published
  • By W. Eugene Barnett, Jr.
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- The Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Environmental Assets Section under the 88th ABW Civil Engineer Group performs services that many in the base community may not realize.

 

Civil Engineering plows 151 miles of snow covered roads on base and cuts thousands of acres of grass each year, but they also work with area partners.

 

Darryn Warner, the natural resources program manager of the Wright Patterson Installation Management Division Environmental Assets Section said their group manages seven bee hives west of Huffman Prairie Flying Field.

 

Bees pollinate 60 percent of our food crops.  Across the country lately, bees have been dying off in alarming numbers.

 

The 109 acre Huffman Prairie is one of the largest prairies in the State of Ohio and is home to more than four federally endangered species, 12 state endangered/threatened species, and 16 state potentially threatened/species of concern.

 

Twenty-five percent of the Huffman Prairie is burned each year to maintain and enhance the health of the prairie ecosystems. The burning controls the spread of woody species and simulates the growth of original and native prairie species. This controlled burning eradicates invasive species and the burns in fall allow plants to recover the following growing season.  The quarterly quadrant burn prevents the destruction of critical habitat for endangered species and helps prevent wildfires.

 

The Environmental Assets Section partners with 5 Rivers Metro Parks and the National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior. The partnership saves Wright-Paterson AFB money and allows the base to operate Huffman Prairie efficiently with a small group of employees.

 

The farmland north of State Route 235 and our airfield runway consists of 100 acres that serves as a safety buffer for planes landing each day.  Warner said we would have to maintain all 100 acres, but Environmental Assets leases the land to an area farmer who pays Wright-Patt a set price per acre each year until the lease runs out. The land is up for a new bid every 5 years.

 

For more information visit http://forestry.ohiodnr.gov/prescribedfire or contact Darryn Warner at 937-257-4857