Prescribed Fire Will Mean New Life for Rare Mountain Bog

Trekking uphill and through charred underbrush, most of it still smoking, four Nomex-clad workers push their way into one of North Georgia’s last remaining mountain bogs. Time is short and the crew works quickly. Soon, flames are shooting upward as drip torches leave bright orange trails of fire around thick piles of rhododendron.

At long last, fire has come to this bog.

During the prescribed burn late last month, Thomas Floyd, a wildlife biologist with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Nongame Conservation Section, explained that in and around the bog there had been “an absence of disturbance … for years.”

“At one time, fire probably came through here on occasion, creeping over the bog and helping to open up the area for sunlight,” Floyd said.

Mike Brod of the U.S. Forest Service agreed that burning the bog was important to continue its restoration. “Fire is important because it kills back the encroaching vegetation around the periphery of the bog … allowing the nourishing sunlight into the bog, thus enhancing the bog plants,” said Brod, who has been instrumental in the project.

Restoration of the bog began in the early 1990s. It was small then, no larger than the average dining room table. But although small, the remote place had something that made it unique: the last known native population of mountain purple pitcherplants in Georgia.

Floyd said the pitcherplant species is tolerant of and even adapted to occasional low-intensity fires, which work to promote open, sunlit bog habitats. “We anxiously await the coming growing season when the effects of the prescribed fire can be examined,” he said.

Mountain bogs are one of the most endangered habitats of the southern Appalachians. Typically small, between a half-acre and five acres, bogs are associated with seeps, springs or small creeks and provide critical habitat for the federally threatened bog turtle and swamp pink, two of Georgia’s most rare species.

Bog restoration involves not only clearing sites but also finding and taking careful inventory of potential bogs, safeguarding seeds from rare plants and monitoring restored sites for rare species such as the pitcherplant. Mountain bog restoration is listed as a high-priority conservation action in Georgia’s State Wildlife Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy that guides Wildlife Resources and Georgia Department of Natural Resources efforts to conserve biological diversity.

“Fire is an important management tool for restoration, which is what we were doing,” Floyd said. “It allowed for the removal of piles of woody debris that had been previously cleared by hand. The intensity of the fire also killed back much of the rhododendron that was encroaching upon the bog.”

Pitcherplants can live for more than 100 years. Although old, the original surviving pitcherplants in this bog had not flowered, lying dormant in the shade with little if any natural light due to the continued encroachment of hardwoods and rhododendron. But in 1998, after much hard work by conservationists, the pitcherplants in one area of the bog flowered again. And in 2002, restoration workers found the first seedlings, a hallmark of success in habitat restoration.

“The hope is that with continued management the eco-tone between the bog and the uplands will be restored to historic conditions – more of a grassy woodland that would allow for fire to creep in naturally,” Floyd said.

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Fire on the Mountain! Returns to Sprewell Bluff

Participants of all ages are invited Saturday, March 14, to Fire on the Mountain! – the annual celebration of an ongoing effort to conserve areas of rare montane longleaf pine habitat through the use of prescribed fire at Sprewell Bluff State Park near Thomaston.

Watching safely from the banks of the Flint River, visitors can observe the fascinating practice of prescribed burning as professionals carefully set fire on Pine Mountain ridge.

“Fire is essential to maintaining many species of wildlife and their habitats found here at Sprewell Bluff,” said Nathan Klaus, a senior wildlife biologist with the Georgia Wildlife Resources Division’s Nongame Conservation Section. “Natural resource professionals feel that it is important to share this knowledge about fire with local citizens, and what better way to do that than with a safe, first hand experience.”

Beginning at noon March 14, festival goers will enjoy the sounds of bluegrass music, the tastes of festival foods sponsored by the Thomaston Upson County Chamber of Commerce and the natural beauty that makes Sprewell Bluff such a special place.

Throughout the afternoon, natural resource agency staff will provide demonstrations on how and why prescribed fires are conducted, presentations on Georgia’s unique and diminishing longleaf pine forests, and live animal programs showcasing some of the wildlife that call the Piedmont eco-region home.

“With acceptable wind speed and direction, temperature, and humidity as ‘prescribed’ in our burn plan, we will begin the prescribed fire demonstration on the mountainside, giving spectators a close up look at Mother Nature’s fireworks set in the natural amphitheater of the Flint River Valley,” Klaus said.

Historically, natural fires frequently swept across the unfragmented landscape, helping shape the diversity of plants and animals found there. And fire is still an important tool for maintaining healthy longleaf pine ecosystems throughout the Southeast. Prescribed fire helps prevent the encroachment of competing hardwoods and restores a grassy understory lush with ferns, wildflowers and other herbaceous plants. Fire also helps establish important habitat for many wildlife species such as the bobwhite quail, wild turkey, Bachman’s sparrow and the endangered red cockaded woodpecker.

Wildlife Resources biologists and other burn teams use prescribed fire on thousands of acres each year throughout Georgia to manage wildlife habitats and reduce the risk of damage from wildfires.

Sprewell Bluff State Park and State Natural Area boast more than 3,000 acres along the Flint River. The park and natural area are popular among outdoor enthusiasts for their wildflowers, wildlife, and scenic, rocky bluffs overlooking the river.

Admission to the event is only $3 per vehicle. Organizers include the Department of Natural Resources’ State Parks & Historic Sites and Wildlife Resources divisions, the Georgia Forestry Commission, Thomaston-Upson County Chamber of Commerce, The Nature Conservancy of Georgia, Callaway Gardens, Georgia Power and The Environmental Resources Network (T.E.R.N.), a nonprofit supporting the Wildlife Resources Division’s nongame work.

For more information on Fire on the Mountain! at Sprewell Bluff State Park, visit www.georgiawildlife.com.

Please check the Web site before March 14 for updates on possible event cancellation due to inclement weather.

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN! AT A GLANCE

** What: Fire on the Mountain!, annual celebration of conserving montane longleaf pine habitat using prescribed fire at Sprewell Bluff.

** When: Noon till after sunset Saturday, March 14

** Where: Sprewell Bluff State Park, Thomaston.

** Highlights: Prescribed fire demonstrations, presentations on longleaf pine forests, live animal shows, bluegrass music and food.

** Admission: $3 per vehicle. Shuttle service provided from designated parking areas.

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Prescribed Fire Week, Burn Team Mark Start of Season

Temperatures are dropping but burn season is heating up across the state as a prime time for controlled burning kicks in. And with Prescribed Fire Awareness Week also approaching, the newest recruits to a mobile burn team are ready to go.

This year’s burn crew represents agencies and organizations including The Nature Conservancy, the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

“We just had one of the best fire training sessions ever down at General Coffee,” DNR wildlife biologist Shan Cammack said of recent training at the state park near Douglas.

Sessions involved Student Conservation Association (SCA) members and volunteers from the Conservancy and the Plant Conservation Alliance (GPCA).

“Our SCA crew looks to be amazing and the rest of the class was filled with super-bright GPCA and Conservancy volunteers,” said Cammack, coordinator of the prescribed fire crew for the DNR Wildlife Resources Division’s Nongame Conservation Section.

Prescribed Fire Awareness Week runs from Feb. 1-7, recognizing land managers who protect and maintain the state’s forest resources, and helping those managers and state and federal officials inform state lawmakers and the public about using controlled burns to reduce the risk of wildfires.

Prescribed fire is a safe, natural process that helps insure healthy ecosystems. The practice is considered essential to managing fire-dependant wildlife such as quail, wild turkeys, songbirds and the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker. Controlled burning also is the only known method for perpetuating the longleaf/wiregrass ecosystem, Georgia’s most diverse type of forestland.

Visit the Georgia Prescribed Fire Council Web site at www.garxfire.com to learn more. The council works with the Georgia Forestry Commission and others to promote the exchange of information, techniques and experience regarding prescribed burning.

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