[birdky] Re: request postponement of Rock Bridge burn

Been busy and have not had a chance to throw 2 cents in on this. The Rock
Bridge prescribed burn was apparently conducted last Thursday by the US
Forest Service. This is part of a four-year plan to burn approximately 2,600
acres in 19 areas on the Stanton Ranger District. As opposed to what is
sometimes the case on federal lands, the burning on the Stanton District --
as far as I am aware from reviewing the documentation some time ago -- is
being undertaken to manage for what are considered to be naturally
maintained ecosystems, forest species composition, and rare species
management.  (In my opinion) Daniel Boone NF has some very knowledgable
folks who have the welfare of rare species in mind when they go about
burning for forest resource conservation and rare species management. Fire
management is a tricky business, and mistakes are occasionally made, but it
seems to benefit many natural resource elements.
 
At the risk of sounding like a Forest Service PR spokesman . . . as with
other government agencies, the Forest Service does not have sufficient funds
to have enough people on the ground doing the types of baseline research
that would be great in an ideal world, so they are typically acting on the
best available information. This project was scoped and made available for
public comment some time ago. I believe that the Forest Service did a pretty
decent job of accounting for the needs for and potential impacts of this
burning project.  Of course there is always room for improvement, and I am
sure that the Forest Service would welcome input from Frank or anyone else
with an interest in forest ecology and rare species management
considerations. I believe access to planning documents is available across
the web these days, but we still get mailed paper copies here at work and I
am not used to searching for them.
 
One other point, when one takes on management for a certain resource, there
are always compromises that must be made. When you burn out a forest, for
example, it must be expected that for a year or maybe more the habitat is
not going to be suitable for certain things. However, if the fire management
wasn't undertaken, the habitat might become lost altogether.
 
Being as the Rock Bridge burn has already occurred, it might be good that if
anyone notices aspects about the vegetation or birdlife of the area that are
different this year, that they make note of it and pass it on to the Forest
Service folks at the Stanton District.
 
bpb, Louisville
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: FrankRenfrow@xxxxxxx [mailto:FrankRenfrow@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 1:36 PM
To: khuie@xxxxxxxxx
Cc: brainard.palmer-ball@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: request postponement of Rock Bridge burn


Dear Ms. Huie,
 
    I would like to respectfully request a postponement of the prescribed
burn along Rock Bridge Road in order that an environmental impact study can
be conducted to assess possible long term risks and benefits to the habitat
in question. I am particularly concerned that Kentucky's only know
population of Red-breasted Nuthatches might be adversely affected.
 
    Here are just a few questions that such a study might shed light upon;
 
1. Are there Red-breasted Nuthatch breeding territories within the proposed
area of the prescribed fire? Although most nests discovered to date have
been in the riparian corridor of Swift Camp Creek, a nest discovered in 2002
was in a dead pitch pine on a cliff edge upslope from the creek. This
species has been found in summer along Rock Bridge Road at least .5 mile
from the Rock Bridge parking area.
 
2. Would this be the right time of year for the prescribed burn?
Red-breasted Nuthatches in this area exhibit breeding behavior as early as
March and could possibly be incubating eggs as early as the beginning of
April. 
 
3. What was the true composition of the original forest along Rock Bridge
Road? Assumptions that this forest was originally composed of xeric-type
forest may not be valid. The rapid return of this area to hemlock-White Pine
mesic forest might indicate that Pitch and Virginia Pine may have been
primarily confined to rock outcrops along the cliffline. The broad ridge
upon which Rock Bridge Road sets may well have been composed primarily of
hemlock-White Pine forest prior to the advent of clearcut logging and
man-made fires.  
 
4. Is the Rock Bridge area really at risk for a catastrophic wildfire? This
may have been the case shortly after the recent Sourthern Pine Beetle
outbreak while most dead pines were still standing. However, most of these
pines have since fallen and are presently in the condition of rapid
decomposition, possibly adding humus and moisture to the soil, thus creating
conditions that may actually retard the spread of fire. 
    
5. What might be the effect of the burn on other bird species? The Rock
Bridge area contains a remarkable concentration of passerine species, wood
warblers in particular. Many of these nest low to the ground as well as
early in the spring, and may be dependent on the shrub level cover that
might be eliminated by a prescribed fire. Although the habitat concerns are
of a quite different nature, the loss of a breeding population of
Golden-winged Warblers at the DBNF in McCreary Co., KY might pose an example
of adverse consequences to breeding warblers due to prescribed burns. 
 
       I hope that the USFS will give ample consideration to this request
for postponement of the Rock Bridge prescribed fire. In my eight years of
observation of the breeding birds of this area I have seen many visitors
from around the country come to enjoy the scenic, unspoiled beauty of the
Rock Bridge area. It would certainly be a mistake to make management
decisions concerning this area without giving proper regard to public input
and concern.
 
Sincerely,
 
Frank Renfrow
611 South O'Fallon Ave
Bellevue, KY 41073



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