Big Thicket National Preserve, Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2007

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A summary of fire ecology activities and program information for the Park/network including fire effects plot workload, staffing, management objectives and monitoring results, and planning, fire monitoring, communications, and research. Also included are staff accomplishments/areas of focus, future program direction and other optional information (e.g. data analysis graphics or presentations, annual highlights, publications, program challenges, unique solutions to problems, collaboration, photographs of monitoring/fire activities, and suggestions on FFI). This year the fire effects monitoring program at Big Thicket National Preserve implemented herbaceous plant monitoring in the plot protocol. We spent many days with our heads down, wrestling with a square frame in hurricane blowdown, and thumbing through field guides and floras trying to identify vegetation to species. We quickly learned the value of lumping species into genera, and local botanists provided valuable specimen identification. During the field season we kept busy with our typical plot work load, monitored various mechanical fuel reduction treatments, assisted with prescribed burns, participated in training, and worked on many various western fire suppression details. Major highlights of the off season included assisting with planning and presenting at the 4th Big Thicket West Gulf Coastal Plain Science Conference, planting longleaf pine seedlings for restoration, and Texas trailing phlox reintroduction. The fire ecologist kept busy with NEPA work on the various mechanical treatments, the new fire management facility (to be completed August 2008) and a longleaf pine restoration EA. The fire ecologist also leads a cooperative longleaf pine restoration team with The Nature Conservancy and serves as an active member on the Texas trailing phlox working group and Big Thicket ATBI science committee. The lead monitor was able to focus on organizing and quality checking much of the fire effects data, actively monitor the mechanical fuel reduction by the gyro-trac, collect live fuel moisture samples throughout the year, and help teach S-290 at a Texas wildfire academy. In 2008, the fire effects monitoring crew will have to re-read plots that did not get burned the year before because planned prescribed burns did not occur. One Big Thicket FY07 prescribed burn did not meet burn objectives and left many of the plots unburned. This unit was selected for hazardous fuel reduction by the gyro-trac machine, and the fire effects crew was able to work with the operator, carefully treating the plots with the machine. This will provide the fire ecology group will good long-term data to document the effects of the mechanical treatment in comparison to prescribed burns. Big Thicket will attempt to burn this unit again when the fuels have had some time to cure and the weather conditions are favorable.

Big Thicket National Preserve, Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2007

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