Year of the Pig

Mark Hainds' first book signing for Year of the Pig was held yesterday at the Solon Dixon Forestry Education Center in Conecuh National Forest.  This excellent book takes the reader beyond Mark's fascinating hog hunting adventures into an appreciation of the longleaf ecosystem and other natural communities.  Every land manager in the Southeast should read this book.

Where's the Fire?

Data from http://spot.nws.noaa.gov. 

This chart is current through August 16, 2011, and excludes wildfires, which often burn areas like bays and swamps.  Such fires are often beneficial, but these acres should not be counted toward the burn target on longleaf sites.  

In the past four months, since April 8, only about 80 acres have been prescribed burned on Conecuh National Forest.  These were both high-profile “special” areas (the indigo snake pens and Crawford Bog) and not representative of a routine growing season burn pattern.  For 2011, the burn season there was essentially from January 3 to April 7. There was a substantial droughty period in the late spring and early summer when there was a no-burn order.  

So far in 2011 Eglin and/or Blackwater River SF have burned on 97 days compared to Conecuh’s 23 (and Desoto’s even worse 15).  Conecuh is far behind in getting on top of hardwood and shrub encroachment over large portions of the forest, yet burning is evidently not a high priority.

Conecuh National Forest's longleaf ecosystem is degrading due to several years of insufficient fire.  Burning "targets" are insufficient to achieve even a 3-year fire return, and many areas need even more frequent burning.  There appears to be little interest on the part of managers to burn after June, even when burning conditions are good.  Most burning is still conducted in winter and very early spring.  

Crawford Bog is one of the gems of the forest, yet it is troubling that it seems to be one of the few spots receiving sufficient fire.  Here is what it looked like on August 13, four days after a much-needed and well-implemented prescribed burn, the first August burn I can recall seeing on the Conecuh:

Click to enlarge.  Great burn, CNF!

Starting Over

This blog has been sitting around for four years without activity, but is being jump-started from scratch. After talking with colleagues, the idea here is to have a much-needed web presence for posting news and observations, including both praise and constructive criticism. It may be patterned after the organization, Friends of the Apalachicola National Forest, and other similar groups, including the National Forest Foundation. This blog can chronicle the growth and activity of our new group, which is in its fledgling stage and may take a bit longer to properly establish. Stay tuned...

Longleaf: the novel

It's only fitting to kick off the first entry in this blog about Conecuh National Forest with a plug for Roger Reid's excellent book, Longleaf. This mystery/thriller set in Conecuh National Forest has really caught on with young readers, and it accurately portrays the natural diversity of the landscape. Actual place names are used, as are interesting species like Pine Barrens Treefrogs and Gopher Tortoises. You may know Roger as the producer for Doug Phillips' Discovering Alabama program on Alabama Public Television.