Last fall, thanks to cooperative weather and a dedicated crew of staff and volunteers, The Nature Conservancy Pennsylvania Office successfully completed its first prescribed burn at West Branch Wilderness in Clinton County. Spanning about two acres, the burns were small, but plans are under way to turn larger tracts in the future.

The Conservancy is using prescribed fire at this 3,000-acre “forest laboratory” to restore degraded forests to ecologically and economically healthy conditions by fostering the growth of keystone species such as oak and pitch pine.

“We learned a lot of information from this first burn that will be a stepping stone to the next level of fire management. Prescribed fire is an important tool that can help us restore this forest to a productive level for both nature and people,” said George Gress, fire specialist and land steward.

Fire is an essential force that has shaped life on Earth, but in many natural areas, the role of fire is severely out of balance, with negative consequences for both human and natural communities.

However, plants and animals that live in fire-shaped landscapes are resilient to the repeated fires that tend to be part of these systems. In fact, many species in these areas depend on fire to survive and thrive.

“Prescribed fire promotes the overall health and structure of the forest and greatly accelerates the restoration of degraded forest lands,” said Dylan Jenkins. “Low-intensity, high-frequency fire is like rain: It’s very regenerative and can transform a stagnant site into a healthy, productive forest.”

Fire is especially important for fostering the growth of oaks, a group of species resilient and adapted to low intensity burns. Frequent burns help reduce competition for space and sunlight by minimizing the cover of mountain laurel and other heath plants that crowd out oak seedlings. Such burns also expose soil and foster growth of species such as red and white pine, black cherry, native grasses, blueberry and flowering dogwood.

Pitch pines, an important component of vibrant and productive forests, also crave fire. Birds of prey nest and roost in the trees’ open branches, and wide-ranging mammals like fisher favor the unique architecture of pitch pine forests for habitat. Altered natural fire regimes have fragmented historically dense stands of these trees, which were once prevalent throughout the Pocono Mountains, the Central Appalachians and the North Central Highlands. To promote regeneration of this important species, Conservancy staff will manually replant pitch pine seeds this spring to capitalize on the nutrient-rich soils after the burn.

Todd Sampsell, director of stewardship, credited the Conservancy’s fire crew for last fall’s successful burn. “Our stewardship staff has worked hard to obtain increasingly higher levels of training and provide leadership on the fire line. Their skills and expertise are an impressive resource we’re increasingly sharing with our interested partners. Our success at West Branch Wilderness is helping us restore and manage our forests and unique habitats.”

To volunteer for these and other projects, visit The Nature Conservancy PA Volunteer webpage or contact Molly Anderson by sending email to: molly_anderson@tnc.org to find out how you can help protect our fire-shaped landscapes.

Reprinted from Spring/Summer 2007 Newsletter, The Nature Conservancy

Links: The Nature Conservancy Presentation on Prescribed Fire in PA

Prescribed Fire – Tools and Tactics Section, The Nature Conservancy Newsletter

See the separate article in this Digest on the first annual PA Prescribed Fire Conference in February.

11/9/2007