From the Michigan Tech Lode, by Matt Norman
While the word may carry a negative connotation for many, fire is in fact a vital part of every natural ecosystem, playing an indispensable role in regulating and renewing the environment.
Next Friday, April 8, Michigan Tech's Forestry Department will be hosting some of the region's top experts on nature as they share the latest scientific findings on the ecological role of fire. The day-long symposium is free and open to the public, and will be held in lecture hall G002 of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Building.
Entitled "Fire: History, Management and Effects," the symposium aims at helping anyone interested in the natural world to better understand the many ways in which fire interacts with and helps to shape the environment.
The speakers will be addressing topics of likely interest for everyone from hunters to birdwatchers, as well as for those who are simply interested in gaining insight into the complex workings of the natural world.
Another stated objective of the symposium is to challenge misconceptions about fire. According to a symposium press release, "Mentioning the term 'fire' elicits a variety of responses. For some, the word fire conjures images of devastating wildfires, destroying forests, homes and human lives. Epitomizing this imagery are the wildfires that have engulfed forests and communities of the Western United States in recent years. Fire history can be correlated with many such examples of anthropogenic devastation."
However, those who see fire only for its destructive potential will be surprised to learn from the symposium the variety of ways in which fire is utilized in environmental management as a means to regulate and rehabilitate natural ecosystems. As the press release goes on to point out, "Forest managers use fire to restore a wide variety of vegetative communities, such as grasslands, oak savannahs, pine forests and even wetlands." This typically involves controlled burns of selected land areas.
Perhaps the most interesting and important example of the use of fire to restore natural ecosystems comes from right here in Michigan. The Kirtland's Warbler is well-known among birders everywhere as a magnificent and rare bird which summers in the Bahamas but breeds only in certain areas of Northern Lower Michigan and, as of recently, the Upper Peninsula.
By the 1970s the Kirtland's Warbler was one of the world's rarest birds and efforts to increase its population had been largely ineffective, with the population dropping to 167 by 1987.
It was then discovered that the Kirtland's could only breed in the unique ecosystem of sandy soil and young jack pines found around Northern Lake Michigan. Since jack pine stands are only regenerated properly by flames, the key to providing a habitat for the bird to breed in was fire.
After the use of burning, the bird's breeding population shot up, reaching 1,200 by 2003, and the Kirtland's Warbler earned the nickname 'Bird of Fire.'
Setting fire to stands of a highly flammable tree like the jack pine in areas where houses are interspersed throughout the forest is hardly a simple matter, however. In fact, throughout much of the Kirtland's range the frequency of homes makes even highly controlled burning unacceptably dangerous.
The complications that arise in balancing the preservation of rare ecosystems with the need for assuring human safety will figure largely in many of the talks next Friday, but especially in those of Tracy Casselman and Christie Deloria.
As refuge manager for the Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Casselman is among those in charge of managing the endangered Warbler's ecosystem. Casselman will be discussing this issue, as well as other ways in which fire is used throughout the Seney Refuge. Meanwhile, Deloria, a biologist at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, will be going into more depth on the Kirtland's Warbler, discussing it biologically and ecologically and providing insight into its unique dependence on fire.
Among the other featured speakers at this year's symposium will be some of the region's leading experts on forest and wildlife management. This includes Robert Mayer, who serves as the fire management officer at the Ottawa National Forest. Mayer will reveal the fire practices, both ecological and preventative, used by the U.S. Forest Service. He will also discuss the relation of these practices to public and professional perceptions of fire risks.
Bernard Hubbard, who is a state forester at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, will go into the history of fire in the state of Michigan.
Also speaking will be the principal scientist at the National Council on Air and Stream Improvement, Inc., George Ice. Ice will be shedding light on the effects of fire on watersheds, a topic on which he is widely considered among the world's leading experts.
The symposium's final speaker will be one of Tech's own experts in the field, Andrew Storer. Storer, an assistant professor in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, will be sharing background on the Fire and Fire Surrogate Study, as well as other fire related research projects he is currently involved with.
The symposium will begin at 9 a.m. with Bernard Hubbard's talk and will continue throughout the day with speakers appearing at the top of each hour until 4 p.m., except during the symposium intermission at noon. Complementary refreshments will be available throughout the day, and everyone is encouraged to stop in and enrich their understanding.
The symposium is an annual event hosted by the Forestry Department, with a different topic of current interest in environmental science featured each year. It is Presented by the Alpha Eta Chapter of Xi Sigma Pi. For more information contact Natalie Nelson, [email protected].
