April 10, 2017Newsletter

NCPFC Member Spotlight -- Seth WardPremier Forestry staff recently conducted a prescribed burn at Camp Sam Hatcher. Lifetime PFC member Seth Ward and Premier staff burned the area in 2016 for the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust. The property contained fire-suppressed Longleaf/Wiregrass habitat that responded very well to the fire.

In years with favorable weather, Seth and his staff have been able to burn 2,000-3,000 acres per year over an 8-9 county area. However, when the weather limits available burn days, that annual total is considerably lower. Weather limits all prescribed burners, but private consultants such as Seth also face other challenges, including the high upfront cost of equipment and subsequent equipment maintenance costs, and liability insurance.

Prescribed burning is just one of many service lines Premier Forestry & Environmental Consulting provides to landowners. This is another challenge for consultants in conducting burns, as personnel cannot stand ready to burn at all times over a multi-county area. Seth does rely on versatile staff, who can take on a range of tasks from one day to the next.

Requests from landowners have slowed some in the past couple of years, but there are still more requests for prescribed burns than Premier Forestry can take on. Seth has also noted more requests from landowners with 10-20 acres, which may reflect a change in land ownership patterns. Seth would like to take these on, but they can be challenging, especially as they tend to be less cost-effective compared with larger acreages.

Early in his career, Seth worked with the State of Florida’s Division of Forestry (FL DOF) as a State Lands Forester managing 70,000 acres of public land at Tate’s Hell State Forest, then as the Putnam County Forester. In 2006, Seth came to North Carolina to open a branch office of a Florida-based environmental consulting firm, and in late 2009, left the firm and formed Premier Forestry & Environmental Consulting, PLLC. In early 2011, the business expanded with the acquisition of Comprehensive Forestry Services, Inc. Seth served on the NC Prescribed Fire Council board as an at-large member 2013-2015, and was instrumental in helping organize one of the highly successful annual meetings.

By Jesse Wimberley, NCPFC Board

Earth Day 2017 will be an exciting day in Moore County with two major longleaf-themed events scheduled on Saturday, April 22nd. Event organizers have created a full schedule of events that will appeal to people of all ages, from children to retirees.

Prescribed Fire Events The Earth Day events are hosted through a partnership of state and local organizations, including North Carolina State Parks, N.C. State Extension Forestry, Friends of Weymouth Woods, The Sandhills Area Land Trust, the Longleaf Alliance, the Arts Council of Moore County, the Sunrise Theater, and the Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities. Funding for these events is provided in part through the Renewable Resources Extension Act (RREA).

Saturday, April 22nd 201710am – 3pm: Party for the Pine Festivities will be in the meadow behind the Weymouth Center on 555 E. Conn. Ave., Southern Pines, NC

This family-friendly festival is an annual celebration of the oldest known longleaf pine tree, which we are fortunate to have in the heart of Moore County on state-protected land. This year, the tree turns 469 years old! There were over 700 participants on 2016, and the 2017 party promises to be even bigger. There will be live music, food, live animals, interactive educational activities and demonstrations, guided hikes, and games. Many conservation organizations will have booths and representation at this festival, including the NC Prescribed Fire Council. At 1pm there will be a cake cutting, a reading of the North Carolina toast, and an opportunity to sing Happy Birthday to the old tree. We will also celebrate the importance of fire in the longleaf pine ecosystem with a demonstration controlled burn at 2pm (weather permitting). Please check out the event website for more information about this event and the other day’s events: www.PartyForThePine.org.

Saturday, April 22nd 2017 5:30 – 6:30 pm: “Siren of the Round Timber Tract” Special Event with longleaf pine guest speaker Janisse RaySunrise Theater, Southern PinesFREE admission (limited seating, doors open at 5 pm)

This new dramatic work by local filmmakers Brady Beck and Ray Owen tells the story of the Round Timber tract, the most ancient part of Weymouth Woods Preserve in Southern Pines. This film will highlight how the saving of this forest helped launch conservation throughout Southeast. Come learn how the woodlands surrounding Southern Pines and Pinehurst are among the most biologically diverse and threatened places on earth. This event includes special guest speaker Janisse Ray and

panel discussion moderated by the Sandhills Area Land Trust.

Janisse Ray is a distinguished writer, activist and naturalist who has authored six books including “Ecology of a Cracker Childhood,” a memoir about growing up on a junkyard in the ruined longleaf pine ecosystem of the Southeast. She was a 2015 inductee into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame and holds an MFA from the University of Montana and two honorary doctorates. She is visiting professor at numerous universities, most recently the University of Montana as the William Kittredge Distinguished Visiting Writer.

The North Carolina Prescribed Fire Council announces its funding opportunity for agencies, groups or individuals that use or support prescribed fire activities in North Carolina. Specifically, the Council seeks proposals for support-ing projects that will advance its Strategic Plan goals through:

• Conducting and/or supporting research of prescribed fire• Conducting prescribed fire education or training activities including conferences, training, or workshops• Producing outreach effects such as prescribed fire publications, websites, or educational material

For more information, please the North Carolina Prescribed Fire Council Strategic Plan at http://www.ncprescribed-firecouncil.org

Eligibility: Any public or private entity conducting research, training or outreach regarding prescribed fire in North Carolina.Please provide:Summary of Project and Objectives (up to 250 words)Needs StatementSchedule and TimetableAmount Requested (up to $1500)

Please send proposals to: admin@ncprescribedfirecuncil.org (all lowercase) no later than Friday, June 16, 2017.Funding will be awarded by September 8, 2017

Call For Proposals

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the N.C. Forest Service teamed up to conduct a controlled burn on TNC’s Silver Run Preserve, near Cashiers. The 386-acre first-entry burn of the preserve’s mesic oak hickory went off on Saturday, March 4 with great results. It was the first ever aerially-ignited controlled burn in District 9 and six partners were involved (National Park Service-Great Smokies NP, NC Forest Service with 2 Bridge crews, TNC, N.C .Wildlife Resources Commission, Jackson County EMS, Cashiers-Glenville Fire Department). The top layer of fuel/leaf litter was dry and receptive, with good moisture about 2” down, and fire carried down to the creek in spots. Approximately >85% of the unit burned, which is exceptional and we expect significant Rhododendron will be top-killed. Special acknowledgement goes to the N.C. Forest Service-District 9’s, Tim Howell (D9 Forester), Paul Pittman (Jackson Co. Ranger), and Benji Reece (D9 Ranger), who were critical for prioritizing this burn, a Southern Blue Ridge Fire Learning Network demonstration site and making it a GO on a weekend. The resources brought out by the Chief Dillard and the Cashiers Glenville Fire Department were more than we could have hoped for and that such a tremendous help, and thanks to the National Park Service Smokies folks for coming over and doing the lion’s share of the lighting and crashing through some pretty tough brush.

Silver Run Preserve gets burned in a good way

North Carolina State University RREA Program

The health, productivity and ecological character of North Carolina 18.3 million acres of forests rest largely in the hands of the more than 450,000 private landowners who own three-quarters of the commercial forestland. To maintain and enhance the forest benefits natural resources managers need to be kept abreast of the latest in management practices, tax laws, cost-share programs and stewardship incentives to effectively address landowner needs. Professionals are also required to acquire continuing education credits to continue to be licensed to conduct professional forest management. Landowners and interested citizens continue to ask for information on management of forestland related to forest health, economics, environmental and social issues, and wildlife - either on their own lands or how it is conducted on public lands. To address these needs information must be disseminated in a variety of ways. The distance learning continuing education program addresses both those needs while providing it at a lower time and travel investment for the professional, this also encourages participation in more sessions than would be required to maintain licensing and certification. Educational materials and workshops continue to provide the requested information to youth and adults about forest health, economics, and management. Through this education landowners and professionals will gain the awareness, knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about the management of their forest resources.

North Carolina’s five-year RREA plan will focus on five issues under the four goals of the 2012-2016 National RREA plan. The goals and issues to be addressed are:

• GOAL 1: Ensuring Healthy Ecosystems o Issue: Invasive Species

• GOAL 2: Enhancing Economic Benefits o Issue: Economic Opportunities for Individuals and Communitieso Issue: Biomass for Energy

• GOAL 3: Enhancing Resource Management on Working Forests and Rangelands o Issue: Forest Stewardship and Healtho Issue: Forest and Rangeland Wildlife and Fisheries Resourceso Intergenerational Land Transfer

• GOAL 4: Building Capacity through Enhanced Connections

In working towards these goals and addressing these issues the following objectives will be accomplished over the next five years.

• Through traditional (workshops, field days, publications) and innovative techniques (webinars, teleconferences, websites, social media) of delivering education and information increase the awareness, knowledge and skills of forest and wildlife management professionals so they can make informed decisions when it comes to managing forest resources

• Through traditional (workshops, field days, publications) and innovative techniques (webinars, teleconferences, websites, social media) of delivering education and information educate landowners on forest health, economics, environmental and social issues, and wildlife so they can gain the awareness, knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about the management of their forest resources

APPROACH: Extension Faculty will utilize traditional and innovative methods of dissemination to educate natural resources professionals and landowners. Activities that will be conducted include the following.

• Needs Assessments• Applied Research• Workshops, Field Days, Seminars, Conferences• Cooperative Extension Agent Training• Distance learning technologies (i.e. Webinars)• Publications• Blogs, Websites, or other internet delivery• Evaluations

2012-2016 Five Year RREA Plan of Work

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Evaluations will be conducted to provide feedback on program value and impact. Evaluation of workshops, seminars, field days, and other trainings will be through follow-up survey of participants. Evaluation of more non-traditional education dissemination methods will include analytical data on number of users, to include number of site visits, number of likes on social media sites, and other appropriate measures of use.

OUTCOMES: Landowners and professionals will gain the awareness, knowledge and skills to make informed decisions on management of forestland related to forest health, economics, environmental and social issues, and wildlife. The primary outcomes expected are improved management of lands, access to continuing education units, money saved by being able to participate remotely.

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The Croatan National Forest is on track to complete controlled burns across 15,000 acres of longleaf pine forest in 2017, having completed 10,500 acres since January. These burns benefit fire-adapted ecosystems like longleaf pine forests and the native species that rely on this forest type. With 2 to 10 feet of vertical vegetation growth each year, accumulation of fuels on the Croatan is a given. Reducing fuels helps reduce the risk of future cata-strophic fires which creates a safer environment for communities surround-ing the forest. To accomplish its work, the forest relies on people, equip-ment, and financial resources provided by many partners including The Nature Conservancy, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Caroli-na Wildlife Resources Commission, and North Carolina State Forestry.

Croatan National Forest

Land Trust of Central North Carolina (LTCNC) has fee owned properties across three counties, two of which are enrolled in EQUIP and CRP programs. These properties are a mixture of NWSG fields as well as loblolly pine stands. The pine stands have been thinned according to conservation plans and are in an active prescribed fire rotation of every third year. In 2016 LTCNC conducted prescribed burns during the dormant season on approximately 85 acres of loblolly pine. LTCNC also conducted prescribed burns on approximately 10 acres of NWSG areas. These burns were conducted via contracted services. In 2017 LTCNC plans to conduct one growing season burn of the loblolly pine plantation to reduce hardwood regeneration. LTCNC is currently expanding the burning program to include an additional 30 acres of loblolly pine plantation as well as a final thinning of the areas mentioned. LTCNC plans to conduct a Longleaf Pine restoration on a historical longleaf pine stand in Montgomery County. This site currently holds Longleaf and will benefit from an active fire regime in the next 3 years.

LTCNC Burning 2017

By Johnny Randall, Director of Conservation Programs, North Carolina Botanical Garden,University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

North Carolina, the Southeast, and much of the United States saw extreme drought in 2016, which translated to an increase in wildfires, extreme fire behavior, and extensive landscape-level fires. Over 50,000 acres burned in North Carolina alone from wildfire. Many of these fires caused widespread tree mortality, particularly on south and west facing slopes in pine/heath com-munities, which are characterized by stand-replacement. But outside of the drier slopes, most of the fires did what we like fires to do – remove duff, top-kill shrubs and other deep shade producing vegetation, facilitate overall hazard re-duction, and create a nutrient-rich seed bed. My characterization of the 2016 fire effects is a vast over simplification, and the details of these goes way beyond the scope of this short article.

Many if not most of these burned areas are either devoid of a seed bank in the soil or the wildfire was henough to cook what seeds were there. Because of this – it’s first come – first serve for colonizing species, which are generally wind-dispersed. And probably the most prolific seed producer of wind-borne seeds in the mountains is the non-native, and notoriously invasive, princess tree – Paulownia tomentosa. If you are familiar with roadsides in the NC moun-tains, then you have no doubt seen the often continuous flush of lavender Paulownia flowers in the late spring (before the leaves unfold).

A single mature Paulownia can produce over 20 million tiny winged seeds that are easily carried by the wind into areas near and far. Paulownia seeds are quick to germinate in bare mineral soil and can grow to 10 feet in a single season. The included photo by Kayah Gaydish is from the Table Rock Fire that shows the proliferation of Paulownia seedlings in the understory after the fire.

I witnessed the Paulownia infestation first-hand in the Linville Gorge, which was a truly depressing site. University of NC-Chapel Hill graduate student, Dane Kuppinger, studied the dynamics of this phenomenon and determined that Paulownia is indeed a fast colonizer of burned sites, but that they do tend to drop-out as the hardwoods re-sprout and ultimately shade the area.

The primary problem with a Paulownia invasion after a fire, or in a forest gap after a tree-fall, is that it usurps the site and out-competes other colonizing plants – particularly the shade-intolerant herbaceous species – one important element of forest species diversity. Paulownia also disrupts the general gap dynamics of forest ecological succession.

The US and NC Forest Service, NC Park Service, The Nature Conservancy, and other groups recognize this problem and are anticipating the Paulownia invasion after the 2016 wildfires. The Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) is a tool for the US Forest Service to request emergency funds to treat invasive plant species for emergency risk management. The US Forest Services and its partners have in the past monitored Paulownia and treated infestations outside of the wilderness boundaries, and hand-pulled along trails within wilderness areas.

OK – enough about the evil Paulownia – and on to a possible solution. Seeds of post-fire colonizing species are available through the Seeds of Success (SOS) program of the Bureau of Land Management! Don’t get too excited, because these seeds are only available for the western states where BLM lands rule supreme. There is a pilot SOS-East project, however, that we at the NC Botanical Garden are a part of, but this is directed at coastal areas – mostly Wildlife Refuges damaged by Hurricane Sandy. For more information on SOS and the National Seed Strategy, please see https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2017/03/13/usda-supporting-national-native-seed-strategy

The take-home messages of this article are to rid our state of invasive species (a tall order!), recognize that restoration seed is essential for ecosystem health, and to support native plant seed banks. Wildfires and other natural disasters will continue and seem to be increasing in frequency and intensity because of climate change. Help prepare for these events with forward-thinking action – like putting seeds in the bank.

Plants on Fire - Fire, Invasive Plants, and Seeds of SuccessLTCNC Burning 2017