The U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service wishes to inform the community that they may be conducting a prescribed burn in March or April 2020, on warm season grasslands at Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge in Ulster County. The actual dates will depend on weather conditions, favorable winds for smoke to rise and disperse, and the availability of trained wildland firefighters. The use of prescribed fire is part of the Refuge habitat management program.

The objectives of the burn are to maintain and enhance migratory and wintering habitat for grassland breeding birds and foraging raptors, by stimulating growth of native warm-season grasses and reducing undesirable plants.