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A low intensity fire burns through undergrowth in the Ozark National Forest near Hector. (John Andre Photo) Conflict on forest fires and Smokey bear campaign Saturday, May 10, 2008 By Joe Mosby It seemingly is a conflict: Forest workers with flaming torches on one hand and the long-established Smokey Bear anti-fire campaign on the other. The professionals, these forest managers who are strong believers in using fire as part of their operations, hasten to add that their idea of fire is carefully controlled burning to reduce unwanted undergrowth and to stimulate more diversified woodlands. The burning is done with low-intensity fires, not the roaring blazes that make news out west. It is only at certain times of the year and with a narrow set of weather conditions that these fires, termed prescription burns, are done, several forest managers told a media group on a recent tour of a section of the Ozark National Forest near Hector in Pope County. While they talked at a site burned a few weeks previously, across the gravel road was a tract that was untouched ? thick with nearly impenetrable brush. The talks were interrupted a couple of times by heavily laden log trucks churching up a hillside. "There is another tool we use," said John Andre, ecologist with the Ozark National Forest. "Timber is cut (by contractors) to open up some of these areas. The money received from timber sales goes back to managing the forests." He explained that federal rules require timber money to return not only to the same forest but to the same unit within that forest where the trees were cut. Fire historically has played a significant role in Arkansas forests. Fires started by lightning often burned until they reached natural boundaries like rivers or were extinguished by rain. Native Americans used fire to manage the woods and improve conditions for animals they hunted. Early European settlers also used fire to maintain open forests with a mix of grasses and wildflowers. Land managers like the U.S. Forest Service have begun using fire to improve the health of forests. Management plans for the Ouachita and the Ozark-St. Francis national forests, which collectively cover more than 3 million acres in Arkansas, include ecological fire restoration. Controlled burning is also a routine practice on wildlife management areas of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. "Fire is one of nature's ways of keeping forests from becoming too dense," Andre said. "Historically, periodic fires would consume smaller saplings and other underbrush, which improved growing conditions for larger trees and plants that grow on the forest floor. These conditions benefited wildlife as well." Creating a controlled burn isn't just going out and striking a match or a lighter in a chosen area. First, the people doing the work have to be trained and certified in fire techniques. They outline the area to be burned by map and on the site. They check the weather forecasts. Too much wind, and the fire is postponed. And they take into account the effect smoke may have on nearby residents and motorists. A "good" fire is one with little smoke, the managers say. At a site near Hector that was burned six weeks previously, the visitors saw grass already greening the hillsides, and variety of shrubs sprouting. The larger trees ? oaks, pines and others ? had blacken trunks a few feet up from the ground but appeared unharmed and topped with new green leaf growth. In Arkansas, however, 57 percent of forests lands are owned by families or organizations outside the commercial timber companies or governmental agencies. To help landowners who want to restore fire to their land, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a Landowner Incentive Program aimed at wildlife focal areas in Arkansas. The Nature Conservancy and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Natural Heritage Commission and Arkansas Forestry Commission are administering the program, which began in 2004 So far, participants have conducted controlled burns on nearly 6,000 acres of private land and have held several workshops on prescribed fire and wildlife management for private landowners. Volunteer firefighters are joining the effort as well by receiving prescribed fire training and helping landowners conduct controlled burns. To learn more about the Landowner Incentive Program, contact the Nature Conservancy's Jason Milks by phone at 501-614-5080. -------- 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. |
