|
Beneficial Fire:
Controlled Burn
The Need for Active Management
Merely preserving land and habitat often
is not enough to insure the survival of native species.
Many endangered species are associated
with ecosystems that were historically subject to frequent fires.
Modern day fire suppression disrupts the this pattern and threatens
the habitat of species associated with certain ecosystems. Replicating
natural fires, using "prescribed burning" or other means
maintains the proper habitat necessary for many species. Some examples
of endangered species associated with ecosystems that naturally
experienced frequent fires:
Red-cockaded woodpecker (fires
suppress hardwood growth in pine habitat)
Plymouth red-bellied turtle (fires stop forest encroachment
on nesting sites)
Black-capped vireo (fires maintain low shrubby conditions)
Peter’s Mountain mallow (fires needed for seed germination)
Karner
blue butterfly (fires create sunny
openings for larval food plant, lupine)
Eastern prairie-fringed orchid (fires maintain habitat and
may increase flowering)
Green pitcher plant (fires maintain habitat and increase
flowering)
Mitchell's
satyr butterfly - recovery
plan
Control and Elimination
of Invasive Species
Other endangered species
are adversely affected by introduced, exotic organisms or "invasive
species". Active management to remove or control such exotic
species is necessary to achieve eventual recovery. Some of the many
endangered species that are adversely affected by introduced, exotic
species:
California red-legged frog (introduced bullfrogs and crayfish)
Lange’s metalmark butterfly (introduced plants out compete
host wild buckwheat)
Attwater’s prairie-chicken (Chinese tallow and McCartney
rose alter habitat)
San Joaquin kit fox (preyed upon by introduced red foxes)
Ecosystem Natural Balance
Sometimes native species can reach unnaturally high densities and
pose a threat to other species. One example is the brown-headed
cowbird, a “nest parasite” that lays its eggs in the nests
of other birds. Modern agricultural practices encouraged an unnatural
abundance of brown-headed cowbirds. Active control of cowbirds is
important to conservation for several endangered birds, including:
Kirtland’s
warbler (Michigan)
Least Bell’s vireo (California)
Black-capped vireo (Texas and Oklahoma)
|
A Small Local
Step
Sound local preservation and management practices are just small
efforts in the protection of habitat and species. Many species
are migratory and dependent upon fragile, threatened or nonexistent"connections"
to other areas. Survival is also dependent upon preservation
and management efforts in other areas, states or nations.
Prairie Video
Various sources
funded the prairie restoration study, phased restoration, and
interpretation. The Commission received a grant from the Michigan
Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs that helped fund the
restoration-related projects, including an art installation
and a video. The Paint Creek Trailways Commission selected Word
Pictures to document the restoration. A short clip is available
online:
A
Prairie in Michigan:
Prairie Restoration Along the Paint Creek Trail
|
