Adaptive Management Using Prescribed Fire in Gulf of Mexico Marshes to Benefit Black Rails, Yellow Rails, and Mottled Ducks

U.S. Geological Survey and partners are testing the effects of prescribed fire on Black Rails, Yellow Rails, and Mottled Ducks in the high marsh habitats of the northern Gulf of Mexico region. The study is conducted in cooperation with Mississippi State University, Illinois Natural History Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, state agencies, universities, and non-governmental organizations. The objectives of this project are to develop an adaptive management framework that allows land managers to reduce our uncertainty about the effects of prescribed fire on these species and the habitats on which they depend, and give managers tools and information that will help them determine the best management actions to improve high marsh habitat for the focal species. The datasets included here were compiled during the development and application of the adaptive management framework.