|
Spring
Burn Season: A Small Number of Good Burns
Short
and sweet. By most accounts, that's a good description of
the spring 2001 burn season in Chicago Wilderness.
"We
didn't have any real hot, intense fires this season," said
Brad Woodson of the McHenry County Conservation District.
"It just seemed like things were cooler and damper than
normal."
Dave
Perfect, of the Forest Preserve District of Kane County,
agreed. Kane County set a goal of 1,000 acres, but only
ended up burning 625.
It
wasn't just an unusually long-lasting winter that made it
difficult to burn. For some agencies, red tape was the biggest
obstacle.
"Because
of changes in the Department of the Interior and the National
Park [Service's] changes in fire procedure, we had to revise
our burn plans," said Al Nash of the Indiana Dunes National
Lakeshore (IDNL). Nash explained that the IDNL's spring
burn season is much earlier (late March to early May) than
that of most national parks, so the changes in procedure
affected the Indiana Dunes where they may not have affected
other parks.
The
Forest Preserve District of Will County had hoped to burn
667 acres, but with only half of their fully trained staff
available, they ended up burning just 404.
Despite
a short window of opportunity, most burn supervisors were
pleased with the results of the burns that they were able
to conduct.
"The
only thing that was disappointing was that we didn't get
more acreage," said Jeff Skibins of the Morton Arboretum.
"What we burned was successful."
— Adam Wilson
|
