Update ~~~~ 10/06/03
It has taken a lot of work to get our old cut-over to this point, but we finally made it. The once neglected site is now a wildlife friendly forage area. Sunflowers were planted this past summer and a cover crop will be planted this fall.

However small they may seem, the sunflowers produced a good crop of seed for the songbirds, raccoons, opossums, wild turkey and many other species in the area as well as some good browse food for deer. The plan is to keep this area planted with different plant varieties which will benefit multiple species of wildlife.

The area is also being used as a home for our RAWS station (Remote Automated Weather Station). These stations have been placed across the state to help users obtain accurate weather readings for a specific area.

The Beginning
The pictures to the right show the transformation of an area not effectively beneficial to our management goals, to one that will provide more habitat, diversity of wildlife and be more aesthetically pleasing for our future visitors.

The site chosen for the project was an old cutover area (a place from which all the trees have been harvested) that was left to grow on its own. Species of trees such as Sweetgum, Red maple, Winged elm and Eastern red cedar were among the natural regeneration.

The first step in the transformation of the site was to clear unwanted growth from the area, and involved two special pieces of equipment: A KG blade, designed to shear trees trunks at ground level and a Drum Chopper, which actually brings the trees down. Attached to each end of a bulldozer, these tools can quickly clear away large amounts of vegetation.

Fire was the next tool used in the site alteration. Debris left from the KG and Drum Chop was allowed to dry out for a couple of weeks before a controlled burn was begun to more completely clear the area.

Fire is an invaluable forest management tool, but is never casually used. Careful planning and execution is required to ensure the safety of people, wildlife, plants and property. Many things were taken into consideration before the burn at MIESF was started. Wind direction, percent humidity, fuel moisture and temperature were constantly monitored. To control a fire, one must anticipate the parameters of the elements that drive the fire. How many days has it been since it has rained? Is there a front entering the area the day of the burn? A weather front brings wind with it. Wind will feed a fire. A front can take a control burn and turn it into a wildfire if caution is not taken.

Prior to igniting the fire, "lines" were constructed around the area to be burned. Bulldozers were used to construct these lines. The blade on the front of the bulldozer is satisfactory in some cases. The alternative is to plow a line around the burn area with a fire plow.

The goal of a line is to separate the area to be burned from the surrounding area with a swath of bare soil. Without vegetation (fuel) the fire can not spread.

The burn went well for us. The smoke traveled up and transport winds aloft disbursed it beautifully. We were still left with quite a bit of debris on the ground, so the next step was to bring in a Root Rake.

Root Rakes are meant to gather debris left on the surface, not actually dig into the soil. Our goal was to remove as many stumps as possible from the site. The root rake did a great job. The gathered debris was piled and burned.

While construction of our Wildlife Demonstration Area is not complete, plans are to plant the area with a perennial beneficial to a diverse selection of wildlife. Different types of Loblolly pine trees will also go in the area to give visitors an idea of the many different characteristics which can occur within a single tree species. The planting phase is due to begin soon, so please check back here periodically to see how we're doing!