Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2007; Voyageurs National Park & Border Waters Parks
Weyenberg S. Fire Ecology Annual Report: Calendar Year 2007; Voyageurs National Park & Border Waters Parks
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 annual report summarizes the activities of the Voyageurs Fire Ecologist, and fire effects program for the Border Waters parks. These parks include Voyageurs NP (VOYA), Isle Royale NP (ISRO), Saint Croix NSR (SACN), Grand Portage NM (GRPO) and Apostle Islands NL (APIS). The fire ecologist also provides support for the Indiana Dunes fire effects program, which includes Indiana Dunes NL (INDU), Sleeping Bear Dunes NL (SLBE) and Lincoln Boyhood NM, and several other park units - Mississippi NRRA (MNRRA), Pictured Rocks NL (PIRO), Keweenaw NHP (KEWE), Cuyahoga Valley (CUYA). The summer of 2007 was quite dry with about a dozen fires being suppressed at Voyageurs and a handful between Isle Royale, St Croix, and Apostle Islands. One fire was managed for Fire Use but it only managed to burn 7 acres. Voyageurs had one wildfire that grew to 58 acres. It greatly improved the pine stand and also burned two FMH plots. St. Croix had an 1100 acre wildfire that burned approximately 300 acres within the Riverway boundary. Voyageurs burned 158 acres this year via prescribed fire, burning 5 islands and 2 mainland units. This was the first time any mid-summer burns were attempted at Voyageurs. The burns were very successful in accomplishing the resource management goals. The units were allowed to burn for several weeks since there was a lengthy dry spell following the burns. Most of the units took one to two weeks to completely burn the area, though most of the burning was done in the first two days.