Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2009; Northern Great Lake Area Parks (VOYA, SACN, GRPO, ISRO, APIS)
Weyenberg S. Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2009; Northern Great Lake Area Parks (VOYA, SACN, GRPO, ISRO, APIS)
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). During the spring of 2009 area fire staff conducted 4 prescribed burns at SACN and one at VOYA. This is the second consecutive year that burns were completed at SACN. Once again a burn was completed partially on private property to maintain continuity in restoring the ecosystem. The burns took place in oak savanna, prairie and red/white pine forest. A fire effects monitor was again hired at VOYA. He assisted in fire effects monitoring at VOYA and SACN and also assisted resource management with projects. A “trade” was set up with VOYA resource management where they borrowed our monitor to help with spring projects and they lent us one seasonal to assist with reading the monitoring plots. The fire ecologist continues to serve on the Minnesota Interagency Prescribed Fire and Fuels Working Group. The working group put on a monitoring workshop of which the ecologist taught two sessions. He also assisted a nearby state park in setting up monitoring protocols in their oak savannas. The implementation plans developed in December 2008 for several INDU burn units and are being reviewed by resource management staff. Implementation plans for the SACN burn units are in progress. These plans will help organize and focus treatment efforts as well as help the ecologist to track progress and treatments at parks that are serviced remotely. At INDU, where more than one program may conduct treatments at a site, it is hoped that these plans will help coordinate their efforts. Grand Portage successfully burned a small grassland with the help of the BIA fire crew. Isle Royale managed a small, 5 acre, wildland fire use fire.