|
|
| |
| Wed, Aug. 20, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
John Andre of the Ozark National Forest stands on a hillside that was controlled burned just a few weeks ago. Dense undergrowth is gone, and grass and new plants are already greening under sunshine on the slope in Pope County. (Joe Mosby Photo) Forest Fires are old habits to break Saturday, May 3, 2008 By Joe Mosby Old habits are hard to break, especially those that have been around for 80 years or so. Fire and forests have been enemies since nearly everyone has been alive and kicking in Arkansas. Smoke in the woods? Sound the alarm. Most Arkansans have grown up with Smokey the Bear telling them, "Only you can prevent forest fires." But today, the managers of Arkansas' forests sing a different tune. Fire, controlled fire they hastily add, is needed to bring back the woods of Arkansas to something approaching those used by native Americans and the early settlers. Most of our forests are too thick, too choked with underbrush, timber leaders from several agencies and organizations told media representatives on a tour of a corner of the Ozark National Forest near Hector in Pope County. These forests that have not seen fire for several decades are hazardous, too. Their floor is covered with a thick layer of natural litter - leaves, pine needles, decayed vegetation. This is fuel waiting for a fire, the timber men said. A healthy forest is a diversified forest, they explained. Rather than large tracts that are virtually impenetrable because of vines and other low growth, the ideal forest is one with a mix of mature trees, young tees, shrubs and grassy plants. This is what those earlier people found in Arkansas, said John Andre, ecologist with the Ozark National Forest. He told of records from the 1829-1845 period in the Government Land Office that said the section where the tour had stopped was surveyed with an average of 29 trees per acre, and these had an average diameter of 14 inches. Today, the choked forest has anywhere from 60 to 100 or more trees to the acre. "In those days, they drove wagons through these forests. Can you imagine trying that today?" Andre said. Historical accounts of Southern woodlands include descriptions of enormous trees and open, grassy floors. These accounts often detail the abundance of animals that inhabited the woodlands as well. Take a walk in the Ozarks today and you'll likely find a dense canopy of smaller, shade-loving trees instead of a more open forest landscape. "Most of our historical wildlife species, including game species like deer, quail and turkey, thrive in open woodland conditions," said Martin Blaney, habitat coordinator with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. "When forests become too dense, sunlight cannot reach the forest floor to nourish the native plants and grasses that animals need for food and cover," Blaney said. "Over thousands of years, our wildlife adapted to co-existing with human disturbances, mostly fire and ax, that kept our forests and woodlands more open. Unfortunately, these activities were curtailed during the last century, and, as a result, our forests look quite different nowadays." Blaney used turkey hunting, under way at the time of the tour, as an illustration. "Where do the turkey hunters go in these woods? Not across the road there where the forest hasn't been touched in decades," he said. "They go to the open woodlands like we have on this side of the road. That's where the turkeys are because that's where their food is." Controlled fire is a primary tool, but not the only one, used for opening up the dense undergrowth of old forests. This burning has to be done carefully and by trained personnel. Too hot a fire can kill the desirable large trees. Set a fire with the wind too strong or from the wrong direction, and houses and other structures could be threatened. Make a fire that is too smoky, and complaints pour forth about road hazards and people's breathing problems. Blaney said Arkansas' natural land falls into four categories today. One is the forests, the areas with too much undergrowth. Another is woodlands, the desired balance that benefits both plant and animals life. Another is the savanna, "basically a prairie with a few trees." The fourth is prairie, the grasslands. The critical goal for the managers is opening forests enough to let sunlight reach the ground where small shrubs and grassy plants thrive. Fire helps achieve this, they said. So does selective harvesting of mature trees for commercial markets. (Next: The use of fire in 2008's forests imitates what Native Americans, early settlers and nature with lightning have done in the past.) -------- Joe Mosby is the retired news editor of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and Arkansas' best known outdoor writer. His work is distributed by the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock. He can be reached by e-mail at jhmosby@cyberback.com. |
