As all of you know, the Department of Natural Resources has begun a program of prescribed burning in Roosevelt State Park. Their stated objectives are twofold:

1. To reduce fuel and the threat of wildfire.
2. To restore a habitat conducive for the growth of Longleaf Pine.

I want all of you to know the reasons that I, as a graduate, Registered Forester, am totally against their plan. I am no stranger to burning; I oversaw the burning of over 1000 acres just this year including 150 acres that adjoins Roosevelt State Park. I am a very big proponent in the promotion of Longleaf Pine, in addition to planting over 300 acres of Longleaf this year I manage lands here in Georgia with over 4000 acres of Longleaf, both planted and natural stands.

Why am I opposed to their plans? First we must understand the state and composition of the current forest in the Park. It would be best described as an oak-hickory “Climax” Forest, one which has evolved with time and the limitation of impact by man to a mature forest composed of mostly oak and hickory hardwood species but also with softwood species such as yellow poplar and gum. It is also home to several types of pines, Loblolly, Shortleaf, Virginia, and Longleaf. Its location at the fall line allows it to be home to species both far south and north of their normal range. Because of its east-west alignment the mountain, actually a ridge, has a great diversity of both southern and northern exposures giving it the uniqueness to support such a large number of tree species. Altitude changes and moisture availability also have a great impact on contributing to this extensive variety of plants and animals.

1. To reduce fuel and the threat of wildfire.

In the South fire has always been one of the major dangers we face in the protection of our forests. Certainly this past summer the catastrophic fires around the Okefenokee are evidence of this. Prescribed burning has proven to be one of the most effective tools that foresters have used to keep wildfires at bay. Properly conducted controlled burns are used to reduce the high concentrations of forest litter which allow uncontrolled fires to burn out of control. What needs to be understood here that prescribed fire is used in pine forests. In general hardwood forests like the one we have on Pine Mountain do not have the buildup of fuel that is so common in a pine forest. This is quite evident just by looking at how thin the duff (the layer of organic matter above the soil) is throughout the park. Hardwood leaves decompose much more quickly than pine needles and do not need the addition of fire to speed up the process. Certainly there is a danger of wildfire during dry conditions in a hardwood forest but because of the lack of heavy fuel and the damage caused by fire to hardwood trees themselves, prescribed burning is rarely, if ever used. The use of fire on steep terrain also poses a whole different set of problems, all of which are applicable to Pine Mountain. There just is no justifiable reason to burn large areas of Roosevelt State Park’s hardwood forests under the pretense of fire control.

2. To restore a habitat conducive to the growth of Longleaf Pine.

This is the true reason the DNR wants to burn Pine Mountain. Throughout the northern range of the Longleaf Pine (Pinus Palustris) remnants of this once mighty forest are found in pockets located in the lower reaches of the Appalachians, primarily in Northwestern Georgia and Northeastern Alabama and specifically within Roosevelt State Park. While genetic tests have shown there is no difference in the “Montane” (mountain) Longleaf Pine and the rest of the Longleaf Pines found throughout their more southerly range there has developed a very growing interest among forest scientists to protect and restore the habitats and ecosystems associated with these mountainous areas that harbor longleaf pines. This is where the pressure is coming from to burn Roosevelt State Park, despite all of our objections.

Sam Burke, PMTA President, and I attended the Third Montane Longleaf Conference at Auburn University on March 11, 2008. This Conference, sponsored under the larger Longleaf Alliance was designed to bring participants up to date in all the latest information concerning the management and restoration issues of mountain longleaf pines. All agreed that the longleaf stands were perpetuated by the repeated burning of the land, eliminating tree species that were susceptible to fire. Fire resistant species like longleaf were able to survive in spite of the repeated burnings. Once modern fire control was established the natural succession of tree species was allowed to proceed, resulting in the forest we now have on Pine Mountain. Their goal is to reintroduce fire to eliminate the hardwoods and restore a forest primarily consisting of fire resistant pines with an emphasis on longleaf. However, in almost every presentation at the Conference the same fact was brought up and it is that there is a tremendous lack of research available on how this can take place and what will the long term effects of such burning be. We are facing an attempt to change an entire natural ecosystem in Roosevelt Park without proper planning and research. There is research being conducted at Sprewell Bluff, Berry College, and the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge, but all of it is limited and in very early stages. Insufficient research has been done to study Roosevelt State Park. Certainly the longleaf ecosystem is one that deserves study, preservation and an effort to develop it, but why embark on such a project in a Park like Roosevelt and especially why when one of the most ardent supporters of the Park asks for constraint?

Our questions need to be:

Who decided that a forest based on fire is preferential to a natural, mature hardwood forest?

Where does it say that a management decision of this magnitude concerning a State Park can be made without proper research and input from all concerned parties?

Who has identified areas that perhaps can be studied for longleaf habitat without indiscriminately burning the entire Roosevelt State Park?

What is the rush to begin such a burning program, especially when such a strong ally as the Pine Mountain Trail Association is asking DNR not to do it?

What about the alteration of wildlife, amphibians, and reptiles? Which species are more important and/or endangered, those associated with Longleaf or those existing in the Park today?

What is the value of a restoration program based on destruction of the dominate forest cover of a state park compare to the recreational value of such a heavily visited recreational asset as the Pine Mountain Trail?

Someone must stand up and ask these questions. Rather than saying we will just leave a park that belongs to all of us I say we must make those responsible for the management of the park be accountable for their actions. Our history with the park puts us in that position. If we don’t stand up for the Park, who will?

Richard Ramey
Pine Mountain Trail Association Board Member
Georgia Registered Forester #1040
3/18/08