Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2013; Southern Great Lakes Area Parks (INDU, LIBO, SLBE, & CUVA)
Fisher-Dunham M and Weyenberg S. Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2013; Southern Great Lakes Area Parks (INDU, LIBO, SLBE, & CUVA)
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 was the 16th year of the fire effects program at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (INDU). Staffing included one permanent and two seasonal positions. The crew is responsible for the monitoring at INDU and three other parks: Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CUVA), Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial (LIBO) and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SLBE). In addition, the INDU Fire Effects crew has in the past assisted with monitoring at Voyageurs (VOYA) and St. Croix (SACN). At INDU, seven prescribed burns (in ten burn units) were completed this calendar year; five in the spring and two in the fall. The reduction in fall burns is attributed in part due to poor weather and no funding; requiring all burns to be conducted “in house” with no overtime. No other prescribed burns were completed this year in any of the other parks that the INDU FE program serves.