Prescribed burning is an important management tool for maintaining and enhancing grasslands. Fire was an important natural part of the development and maintenance of grasslands, forests, and wetlands, throughout history.

For thousands of years, tall grass prairies and open brushlands were kept free of trees by the occasional wildfires that cleared the landscape every two to 50 years. These fires were caused by lightning or set intentionally by early Tribes. They had discovered that fire killed woody plants but encouraged fruit-bearing shrubs and forage-producing grasslands.