Vol . 14, No. 6 
Page 3 
burns similar to that of the bush clovers. Trailing wild beans 
(Stroehostvles spp.) , readily accepted by quail as food, increased in 
importance value during the 4 years. The absence of fires would probably 
have resulted in the loss of these vital quail-food plants from the 
habitat. 
The prescribed burns were primarily successful in maintaining an 
open-meadow type of habitat. Blackberries ( Rubus alleghen iensj^), 
although not eliminated by fire, are restricted in their spreading. The 
burned plots have not been invaded by plants of the early woody stage— 
for example, smooth sumac ( Rhus glabra ), persimmon ( Pi osp.y.LQ i v1r 9 ' n1 ana ), 
and sassafras ( Sassafras albidum ). 
g. Resoonses of Prairie Chickens to Habj_tat, Manipulation 
p. -- r. L# Westemeier 
Searches for prairie chicken nests were conducted one or more times on 
a total of 409 acres (110 plots) after prescribed burning in 1968, 1969, 
or 1970 on the Bogota Study Area. One objective of burning is to learn 
whether fire can be a useful tool in maintaining the attractiveness o 
sanctuary grasslands for nesting hens. The burned fields (mostly con¬ 
sisting of redtop or timothy) were categorized as follows: 
March burn I (108 acres--38 plots), the first growing season after 
a March burn; August burn I (125 acres--28 plots), the first full 
growing season after an August burn; March burn II (94 acres—25 
plots), the second growing season after a March burn; August burn II 
(51 acres—13 plots), the second full growing season after an August 
burn; and March burn 111 (31 acres--6 plots), the third growing 
season after a March burn. 
No nests have yet been found in the March burn I type, and only two 
nests have been found in the August burn I type (62.5 acres per nest). 
However, 14 nests have been found in March burn II types (6.7 acres per 
nest), and 13 nests have been found in August burn II types (4.0 acres 
per nest). So far, only one nest has been found in 30*7 acres in the 
third growing season after a March burn. In 1970, three fields of timothy 
totaling 12.3 acres contained nine nests (1.4 acres per nest)—the fields 
had been burned in March or August of 1968. 
Thus, the data collected to date on prescribed burning indicate the 
usefulness of the technique of burning for renewing the attractiveness of 
old sods for nesting hens. One full growing season after a prescribed 
burn, a stand of cover appears to have an attractiveness equal to or 
exceeding that of sods in their second growing season after plowing and 
reseeding. Nest data for 1971 should provide increased insight into the 
use made of cover in the third growing season after burning. 
