New Hampshire Nature Notes
by Eric Orff
Peepers singing in Epsom at last, and a Bear Brook State Park habitat management fire.
Thursday 04/14/2005
Thursday was a full and busy day for me and my evening walk with my dogs capped my day perfectly.
I met the state's "fire crew" at BEAR Brook State Park at 8:00 Am to conduct a controlled burn to improve the wildlife habitat. In fact we conducted three burns during the day.
The first site is one we first burned part of last year and were going back to burn the second part of the 5-acre opening. This area was an old field that had grown back into a forested block, but the under story had remnants of low bush blue berries. This management had been one I had requested a few years ago as part of my regional wildlife biologists duties. Although Bear Brook is the state's second largest state park at 10,000 acres in is almost competently forested. Fields and forest openings are at a premium. I had recommended clearing this old field area to create a much needed opening. Woodcock and turkeys especially need these forested clearings for nesting.
State forester Inge Seaboyer had brought in a huge machine called a brontosaurus to clear the birches and pines to open up the 5 acre opening. Last year and this we were burning it to remove the debris and stimulate the blue berry growth. The half that was done last year should produce blue berries this year and this year's burn will produce a blue berry crop for wildlife next year. By staggering the burn we can offer wildlife some feed each year.
The first half acre plot we burned was in the middle of some towering white and red pines. We have to literally weave the ground fire around the trees in some places. I am the "water boy". A decade or so ago when we first got this state burn team into action I came up with the idea of towing a barrel of water around the burns while we are burning. I am there to keep the back-packs topped off as they are used by the crew manipulating the fire. This barrel can fill a number of bladder bags before I head off to a water source to refill my barrel. By everyone having their bladder bags with ample water we can more aggressively burn and get more done. I usually drive the three-wheeler right along the fire line to top of the bags as needed.
We had a crew of 10 or so as is usual with a couple of fire rangers on hand to supervise and closely follow the "burn plan". Ever controlled burn has a several page document prescribing what we plan to do and with built-in factors on weather conditions that determine a go, no-go burn or when we need to stop. The rangers do an on-site weather check for temperature, wind speed and direction, and humidity to make sure these factors are within the burn plan.
Torch men dribble a line of fire out of metal canisters on the ground and we are off and running. Well, usually not running as staff are trailing the torch man to put out the fire edge moving towards the trees but allowing the fire to move over the areas to be burned.
It always is a great day to be working with these trained state forest folks. Usually the same folks I have worked these fires with for years with a few new faces from year to year. I feel vary confident with this teams abilities. We burned two areas at the first forest opening, then completed the day with an afternoon burn in an existing old field area to keep it open. Bear Brook was right near our last site so we ran a mini pump and hose to douse the hot spots saving some time at days end. By days end I am always tired, sore and covered with soot. It is a great feeling. Wildlife will benefit for years from the work we did in just this one day.
My evening walk with the dogs brought my first peepers of the year here in Epsom. Although it seemed like they would never start calling here at my house, I bet it is about average. I need to check my diaries on this. The fields are slowly warming and green grass is starting to shoot out of the brown carpet of last years growth. It just seems that the sound of peepers gets sweeter with each passing year.
