Newsletters

November 2012-Prescribed Burns, Orange Jewelweed, Raven, CPA

WELCOME TO GREEN FUTURES !
NOVEMBER, 2012

 

“In our hearts most of us know it is true, but we live as if it isn’t. Progress is measured by the speed at which we destroy the conditions which sustain life. Governments are deemed to succeed or fail by how well they make money go round, regardless of whether it serves any useful purpose. They regard it as a sacred duty to encourage the country’s most revolting spectacle: the annual feeding frenzy in which shoppers queue all night, then stampede into the shops, elbow, trample and sometimes fight to be the first to carry off some designer junk which will go into landfill before the sales next year. The madder the orgy, the greater the triumph of economic management.”

 

 

 

- George Monbiot

 

 

 

 

 

Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.

 

-  Robert Frost

 

 

SOUTHEASTERN MASSACHUSETTS BIORESERVE THREAT OF THE MONTH

 

WHAT PART OF “BIODIVERSITY” DON’T THEY UNDERSTAND? – bi·o·di·ver·si·ty (b -d -vûr s -t ). n. 1. The number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region. (thefreedictionary.com)

 

 

 

From the “Management Plan, Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve,” here is the Mission Statement:

 

The Mission of the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve is to protect, restore, and enhance the biological diversity and ecological integrity of a large-scale ecosystem with diverse natural communities representative of the region; to promote sustainable natural resource management; to permanently protect public water supplies and cultural resources; to offer interpretive and educational programs communicating the value and significance of the Bioreserve; and to provide opportunities for appropriate recreational use and enjoyment of this natural environment.

 

Although we completely understand, actively endorse and are totally committed to the Bioreserve mission, unfortunately others aren’t.

 

The Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve (SMB) is only a few years old, yet many threats exist to the protection, restoration and enhancement of its biological diversity.

 

Joining our Bioreserve Flora and Fauna of the Month newsletter feature will be a new, monthly article on a longstanding or new threat to the fulfillment of the Bioreserve’s mission.

 

Here’s this month’s Bioreserve Threat of the Month - Prescribed burning for the wrong reasons.

 

When Giovanni de Verrazano in the early 1500s came sailing up Narragansett Bay, right under the air space of the future bridge that would bear his name, he first recorded the friendliness of the native inhabitants he encountered on making landfall and then wrote, “We frequently went five to six leagues into the interior, and found it as pleasant as I can possibly describe, and suitable for every kind of cultivation …grain, wine, or oil. For there the fields extend for 25 to 30 leagues; they are open and free of any obstacles or trees and so fertile that any kind of seed would produce excellent crops. We entered afterwards into the woods which we found so great and thick, that any army, were it never so great, might have hid itself therein....”

 

Fellow explorers Bartholomew Gosnold and Adriaen Block came sailing by southern New England a little bit later. In their reports back to Europe they also mention vast open vistas and “park-like” areas of large trees containing little “underwood.”

 

Apparently, at least in southern New England, millennia of native slash and burn agriculture and firing of the land to encourage blueberry production and also to drive game animals to waiting hunters, left the native forest in various levels of succession from the more human influenced coastal plain to less populated interior areas where the “woods which we found were great and thick.” Possibly, in coastal areas, the only stands of dark, impenetrable, old-growth forest remaining would have been in fire resistant areas such as rocky ravines, along river flood plains and in swamps.

 

It is easy to see how different native species and their habitats adapted and evolved depending on where they were located. Some evolved with fire, some without. Two interesting examples of species that evolved with fire are the pitch pine (Pinus rigida) and the heath hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido).

 

Pitch pine’s thick, scaly bark protects the tree from all except the most intense fires. They also sprout from the trunk if that is all that is left after a forest fire. If even the trunk is destroyed by fire, pitch pines are one of the few conifers that readily stump sprout.

 

Pitch pine cones do not need fire to open and drop seed, but open more quickly, dispensing more seed, after fast moving ground fires heat their cones. Fire gives the pitch pine seeds a competitive advantage, a head-start, ready to germinate as soon as the ash covered ground cools.

 

The heath hen, unfortunately now extinct, is a very close relative of the prairie chicken. Heath and prairie environments are similar; few if any trees, low shrubs and grasses. Heath hens ranged along the immediate Atlantic coastal plain from Virginia to Massachusetts. Like the pitch pine, heath hens evolved with and were dependent on habitat created by fire. Grassland fires encourage greater seedstalk production in forbs and grasses, remove seasonal build-up of thatch and detritus, and recycle formerly locked-up nutrients back into the soil.  

 

Green Futures understands the important role fire plays for some native species and habitats. Fire can result in greater biodiversity and that should be the sole reason for prescribed burning on areas within the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve.

 

The Freetown State Forest is a part of the SMB under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).

 

Within DCR is the Division of Forest Fire Control (DFFC). Within that division there are individuals that are trained and qualified to conduct “prescribed burns.” Green Futures does not question their competency.

 

DFFC has decided to conduct three prescribed burns on small areas under DCR control within the SMB. We believe they are being done, primarily, for the wrong reasons. The wrong reasons, especially in a Bioreserve, are for illusory fire prevention purposes, to train fire division personnel or …just because “you can.”

 

The right reason, especially in the SMB, is to increase native species diversity. Other reasons just aren’t compatible with the SMB’s mission.

 

Similar to “myopic” foresters, especially some old-timers, that only see “board feet” when looking at a forest stand of trees, many prescribed burn technicians only see a forest as “accumulated fuels.”

 

Unfortunately DFFC is using wild fire scare tactics in the press, to garner local public acceptance for prescribed burns, when the very limited acreage they plan to burn, a few dozen acres at most, will hardly prevent the rare forest conflagration. When was the last time a home or business in Bristol County was destroyed by wild fire that began on DCR property?

 

Nowhere in DCR’s mission statement does it say public forest land should be burned to protect abutting residences or businesses.  And, as for forest fire danger to area homes, there are a number of things one can do on one’s property to protect home and possessions. Building or remodeling using new fire retardant materials, creating fuel breaks between one’s residence and the woods, planting fire retardant plants and shrubs, etc. If you live in a forested area and are interested in this topic and wish more information Google “protecting your home and property from wildfire.”

 

Southeastern Massachusetts contains three-quarters of a million acres. In comparison the SMB, at this point in time, consists of a mere thirteen thousand acres. The three areas slated for “prescribed burning” have already been mechanically harvested. The trees were cut and chipped for biomass after the demise of the oak forest from multiple years of alien caterpillar and native chestnut borer attacks. To say one is burning a few dozen acres to prevent future catastrophic wildfires across so broad an area is silly. The “large amounts of dead wood” alleged to be in those areas was consumed by some northern New England biomass-fired power plant years ago.

 

Biodiversity wise, the identified prescribed burn areas are presently in an early-successional state now, functioning as habitat for towhees, thrashers, prairie warblers, black racers, box turtles, whip-poor-wills, etc. The Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program of the Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife conduct a whip-poor-will calling survey each spring. Whip-poor-wills are a vanishing species here in Massachusetts. The areas of the SMB with the largest number of whip-poor-wills include the areas picked by DFFC for burning.

 

Here is what we would like to see happen and what we believe will be beneficial to species diversity in the SMB.

 

Before any prescribed burning is done, goals have to be set, data needs to be gathered. What species do we want to encourage through prescribed burning? What species currently live on the land selected for burning? Are any of these species rare, threatened or endangered in the SMB? If the parcel is burned, what native species do we expect will prosper/return? What species will we be eliminating by burning this area? Is there sufficient habitat in the SMB to accommodate those species that may be displaced? What is the plan to deal with invasive species (cowbirds, multiflora rose, autumn olive, etc.) that may appear to take advantage of the newly created conditions?

 

To sum up, we understand the role of fire and benefits it can provide in some ecosystems for some species. We have no doubt DFFC prescribed burn personnel are competent and expert in their field. The SMB is truly unique, here in urban Massachusetts, with an important mission. It contains limited “pine barrens” habitat. It is neither Manuel Correllus State Forest nor Myles Standish State Forest. A different approach is required.

 

The chief reason for conducting prescribed burns in the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve should be for species diversity. The mission statement requires it.

 

 

Top of Breakneck Hill in the SMB slated to be burned to remove “accumulated fuels.”

 

 

COMMUNITY PRESERVATION ACT (CPA) – On the November 6^th ballot in Somerset and Fall River

This November 6^th the voters of Fall River and Somerset, in their respective communities, will be asked to approve a referendum to adopt the Community Preservation Act. The CPA will provide new municipal funds to improve the city’s parks, historic architecture, recreational amenities, historic landscapes and the city’s neighborhoods.

 

For information on the CPA go here: www.fallrivercpa.net

 

If you live in either of those communities …don’t forget to vote!

 

 

 

BIORESERVE FLORA OF THE MONTH – Touch-Me-Not or Orange Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)

 

 

 

Many New England gardeners enjoy having a relative of the touch-me-not blooming in their flower gardens each summer. Commonly known by their generic name, Impatiens, they are hardy plants, flower all season long, can tolerate shade and require little care.

 

Our wild Impatiens, touch-me-not or orange jewelweed, is a common annual wildflower ranging across most of temperate Canada and much of the United States, except for the arid southwest.

 

In the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve (SMB) and other area woodlands it thrives in moist to wet soils rich in organic matter and can be found growing abundantly in area wetlands and along brooks and streams that receive moderate to full sunlight.

 

Touch-me-not is an annual. Due to the rich soil in which it grows and consistently moist conditions of its desired habitat, touch-me-not seeds germinate readily early in the spring and the seedlings are up and growing while neighboring competing vegetation is still dormant.

 

Under ideal growing conditions the touch-me-not can reach five feet in height. Most encountered will be three to four feet tall bearing numerous light green to reddish green stems. The succulent, turgid stems snap easily and the entire plant is very fragile and can easily be uprooted.

 

Touch-me-nots bear green, oval-shaped alternate leaves that are two to four inches in length. Clusters of light orange flowers with darker orange streaks and dots grow from the leaf axils.

 

The tubular, cone-shaped touch-me-not flowers are approximately one inch long and a favorite of hummingbirds and forest butterflies. They are reliable nectar producers blooming continuously throughout summer and fall.

 

Bean-like seed pods follow blooming. Each seed pod is divided into five sections each containing numerous tiny, green seeds. Where abundant, many species of small forest rodents and birds consume touch-me-not seeds.

 

The seed pod segments, when ripe, eject the touch-me-not seeds at tremendous speed when the pods are brushed against or lightly touched. It is from these “exploding” seed pods that the plant acquired its touch-me-not name. Turn a small child loose in a patch of touch-me-nots containing ripe seed pods and watch the wonder.

 

Touch-me-nots’ succulent stems contains a mucilaginous sap that is a poison ivy rash preventative. The touch-me-not sap must be applied as soon as possible after contact with poison ivy. Once the rash appears, it is too late.

 

Touch-me-not sap is also used as a treatment for athlete’s foot and other fungal skin infections.

 

 

 

 

 

BIORESERVE FAUNA OF THE MONTH – Raven (Corvus corax) No “Nevermore” for our raven!

 

Yes, those enigmatic and charismatic large “songbirds” of northern New England’s Big Woods once again inhabit the Southeastern Massachusetts Bioreserve (SMB). And, interestingly, it is apparently because of the largest solid waste landfill in Massachusetts being located adjacent to the SMB. Ravens love free “eats”!

 

Like us, ravens are omnivores and can feed on practically anything from the smallest insects, seeds and berries to carrion and garbage. They will also kill and eat small mammals, birds and eggs, chickens and other livestock and devour most farm produce. They are not a bird farmers and livestock raisers are fond of.

 

The raven is an all black bird in the same genus, Corvus, as its smaller relative the ubiquitous American crow. Initially similar in appearance, if you look carefully you can easily distinguish between the two. American crows average 19 inches in length and have a wingspan of 36 inches while the raven averages 26 inches in length with a whopping 4 foot wingspan. Ravens also have a noticeably thicker bill, shaggy feathers around bill and on throat and a wedge-shaped tail.

 

Vocalizations of the raven are extensive and complex. They produce guttural croaks, purrs, rattles, whines and hollow-sounding knocking noises. Their calls travel a long way and you often hear them at a distance well before seeing them fly into view. Captive ravens have been taught to mimic the human voice.

 

Intelligent and clever, ravens use sticks and stones as tools and communicate dangers and where good food sources have been located to other flock members.

 

Smart and savvy ravens figure prominently in the myths and legends of many cultures. Like coyote, its mammalian equal in the quick--wits department, many Indian tribes considered both species trickster gods.

 

For many Indian tribes in the Pacific Northwest the raven played the leading role in the creation story. Other tribes worship the raven as a spirit messenger shuttling between the land of the living and the land of the dead.

 

As a symbol of good or evil the raven appears in many forms in Viking, Celt, Indian and Siberian myth and folklore. The raven is mentioned frequently in the Bible, Torah and Quran. Raven is the first bird Noah sends out to see if the flood waters have receded.

 

Even today, ravens figure prominently in our art and culture.

 

Ravens have a huge range that spans the globe. They are native to all of Europe, northern Africa, central and northern Asia, southern end of Greenland, all of Central and North America except for our southern, mid-Atlantic and mid-western states.

 

Ravens are monogamous and engage in an elaborate aerial display prior to mating. They prefer to nest in large trees in thick forests or on cliffs and ledges in mountainous country. During the mating and nesting season each pair becomes extremely territorial and will attack any other raven …or any other animal that approaches their nest

 

Raven nests are easily confused with hawk nests. Both nests are made from sticks and twigs and situated high in trees. Large hawk species and ravens occasionally nest on high-tension electrical-line towers and bridge superstructures.

 

In early spring female ravens lay three to seven gray-blue, brown splotched eggs. Incubation averages twenty days. Both parents bring food to the ever hungry raven chicks. Once they are all grown up and fledged the young ravens remain with their parents for the winter and disperse in search of their own territory in spring.

 

A Bioreserve raven returning home after enjoying some fast food at Republic Services Allied Waste Dump

 

 

 

SEASONS CHANGING – Mother Nature prepares for Winter

 

November is this last fall month and its name is derived from the Latin “novem” …nine. Originally the ninth month of the Roman calendar, November is now the eleventh month of the Gregorian calendar.

 

By November almost all of New England’s summer bird residents are somewhere far to the south as are monarch butterflies, six or so species of dragonflies, three species of bats and a few species of marine fish.

 

Woodchucks, aka groundhogs, are feeling drowsy deep in their burrows as are chipmunks. Mourning cloak butterflies and dozens of other insects are hibernating in hollow trees. Bears are checking out winter denning sites they’ll be entering in December.

 

Aquatic turtles, frogs and salamanders are snug in the mud under water and snakes and box turtles have returned to their winter dens in the earth.

 

Unlike those species mentioned above, humans will be up and about in November so be sure to click on our calendar for upcoming meetings, events and outdoor things to do.

 

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