Goal 8.

Reintroduction of Indian-type Burning

This April 1, 2005 map shows three principal areas proposed for 10-year burning study.

This goal proposes that Indian-type burning methods should be used on a mid-term experimental basis (training and research) for purposes of sustained maintenance of oak savannah habitat and for addressing goals 1, 2, 4, 6, and 7.

At this time very little is known about maintenance of stable native oak savannah conditions in the Willamette Valley, in part because few such conditions remain. In the past, Kalapuyan people maintained savannah conditions with regular burning strategies, but that was more than 150 years ago and the region's wild plant and animal populations have been forever changed since then. The introduction of thousands of new species of plants and animals in the last 150 years

It is very likely that regular burning can still be an effective tool in maintaining oak savannah conditions over long periods of time, particularly at a landscape-scale of thousands of acres. It is also possible that regular burning can maintain similar conditions in stand-scale increments as small as five or ten acres; one of the more important management questions asked by this project. Invasive weeds are another modern problem. Regular burning may favor many of them and help them to spread. It is hoped that a steady program of spot spraying with herbicides will help resolve the weed problem (see Goal 6), and that regular burning will also be helpful--at least for some species, such as poisonoak.

This experiment tests the responses of target and focus plant and animal species, including weeds and pests, to the reintroduction of regular burning practices that have been absent from the environment for more than 150 years. The oak savannah environment is divided into three meadows of varying aspect--south, east, and west--and each is burned at one-, two-, and three-year intervals for a nine-year period. We know Kalapuyan people, including local Chepenafa, burned larges areas on an annual basis at a time that was good for roasting tarweed seeds on their stalks; usually between late August and early October by most historical accounts. Other areas were burned less often, particularly areas in which woody shrubs were grown. Burns are timed to reflect Indian burning schedules (toasting ripe tarweed seeds is a major factor for prairies, but oak woodlands might burn better in fall or winter), and are intended to directly involve the public. Relict and introduced plant populations will be mapped over that time period to chart their responses to the differing burn schedules.

The maintenance of oak savannah habitat conditions and the control of modern weeds in native environments are important problems. Smoke management and wildfire control (see Goal 7) are other important considerations related to the reintroduction of fire into the environment. Potential negative reactions from local residents can hopefully be mitigated by the opportunity to have local Corvallis City Fire Department firefighters conduct training exercises with the scheduled brush pile and meadow burns, and to work directly with local schools and tribes in implementing this experiment.

10-Year Burn Schedule

Year 1 2005 Burn south meadow, including repaired area (late summer).

Year 2 2006 Burn piles and draws (winter); east slope (late summer).

Start Experiments (student-designed native plant and weed response studies)

Year 3 2007 Burn south meadow, east slope, and west woodlands.

Year 4 2008 Burn east slope.

Year 5 2009 Burn south meadow and east slope.

Year 6 2010 Burn east slope and west woodlands.

Year 7 2011 Burn south meadow and east slope.

Year 8 2012 Burn east slope.

Year 9 2013 Burn south meadow, east slope, and west woodlands.

Analysis

Year 10 2014 No burns: assess resulting trends and conditions and make new plans.

Summary: Proposed 2005 - 2014 Burning Schedule

1) Maintained & repaired south meadow: burned 5 times at two-year intervals.

2) Established new east prairie: burned 8 consecutive years.

3) Extended existing west meadow and restored woodlands: burned 3 times at three-year intervals.

Predictions

We assume that Kincaid's lupine and other favored savannah plants will respond in a positive way to historical management patterns; some plants will respond more favorably to different aspects or burn schedules than others. Because Brachypodium it is an exotic species and has never been subjected to regular burning locally, we don't know how it will respond over time.

In addition to providing valuable training and research opportunities, the information gained by this experiment will be extremely useful in guiding the long-term management strategies need to maintain oak savannah conditions over time.