Forum Index > Public Lands Stewardship > Moses Prairie (Queets, QIN) prescribed burn 2016
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RodF
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PostWed Jul 06, 2016 11:51 am 
Prairie Burns Return to Quinault Moses Prairie (2 miles south of Queets, 2 miles inland from Pacific coast) prescribed burn of 10 to 20 acres is to occur this fall. "Quinault people used fire to maintain camas and beargrass for thousands of years" "the prescribed burn this fall may spur growth of dormant beargrass, a sought-after plant used for baskets, as well as huckleberries." "A $64,000 Washington Coast Restoration Initiative grant, facilitated through the state Recreation and Conservation Office will fund the estimated 20-acre Moses Prairie burn." Findings from this may be applied to restoration of other coastal prairies, including Ahlstrom's prairie and Roose' prairie within the Makah reservation and Olympic National Park. These rare habitats, home to endangered species, are threatened by reforestation if not maintained by fire.

"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir "the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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Ski
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PostWed Jul 06, 2016 7:26 pm 
Rod I cannot get the first link to open. Where exactly is "Moses Prairie" located? The second link includes a number of project proposals, every one of which far exceeds the $64K grant amount. Any idea where that money is supposed to be coming from? One of the more spendy proposals is the Ellsworth Creek restoration project at $1 million. I thought the Nature Conservancy was doing all that on their own down there. Haven't talked to them for a few years. I'm baffled.... where's the money supposed to be coming from for all that stuff in that second paper? I just don't see the State Legislature coming up with that kind of money for Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Pacific and Clallam Counties. Federal grants? Private donations? Anyone needing some background information on the history of Native American controlled burns (or wondering about the "why" part of burning) on the Olympic Peninsula should take a look at this paper written by Kat Anderson: The Ozette Prairies of Olympic National Park - Their Former Indigenous Uses and Management ------ .... and this is just my lousy opinion, but I honestly find it difficult to believe treating only a 10-acre area is going to really make much of a difference insofar as "habitat restoration", and it may well be too small an area to really see "effects and results" in any sense of "long term".

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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Seventy2002
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PostWed Jul 06, 2016 9:36 pm 
Ski wrote:
Where exactly is "Moses Prairie" located?
47.50735,-124.3180069

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RodF
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PostWed Jul 06, 2016 10:15 pm 
Washington Coast Restoration Initiative was funded at $11 million in the state biennial budget (Seattle Times, Aug. 2015) through the Salmon Recovery Funding Board. (The budget was about half the request.) The largest single project is $1.9 million for engineered logjams to stabilize the Quinault River above Lake Quinault (and I think this is its second and largest biennial funding period of what may be many). Re Nature Conservancy "doing all that on its own", grants are their only funding source. (Unlike the Quinault, who this year receive a $22.8 million settlement plus $19 million for land buy-back for their tribal members plus their usual $12+ million annually in various Federal grants.)

"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir "the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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PostWed Jul 06, 2016 10:35 pm 
Ski Maybe they are a little scared to burn after a hundred years of vegetative accumulation. While it's not described as such maybe it is more of a pilot. Or something to create at least one side of black to burn against in the future?

Keep Calm and Carry On? Heck No. Stay Excited and Get Outside!
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PostWed Jul 06, 2016 11:35 pm 
thanks. still can't get that first link to open for some weird reason. pyrites: yeah... unquestionably "pilot", because it's been decades in the works. I just question the efficacy of the operation when it's on such a small scale. if you read through that Kat Anderson paper I cited just above you'll see that they burned huge swaths up there up and down the west side of the peninsula in the past.

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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treeswarper
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PostThu Jul 07, 2016 6:20 am 
Ski wrote:
thanks. still can't get that first link to open for some weird reason. pyrites: yeah... unquestionably "pilot", because it's been decades in the works. I just question the efficacy of the operation when it's on such a small scale. if you read through that Kat Anderson paper I cited just above you'll see that they burned huge swaths up there up and down the west side of the peninsula in the past.
"They" did not have the threat of lawsuits, complaints about smoke, nor air quality standards to meet. There is a bit of burning to keep or restore prairie habitat on Ft Lewis. They have a couple of conflicting endangered species that makes planning interesting.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities
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PostThu Jul 07, 2016 9:40 am 
I am quite familiar with that area. It is surrounded by clearcut. It's really easy to access as well. Basically, it's a peat bog with a "doesn't look like it belongs in Washington" creek running through it that contains absolutely no fish. Drives you nuts..... They just spent a bunch of money replacing the bridges downstream of the prarie for better fish passage.

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graywolf
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PostThu Jul 07, 2016 10:53 am 
Ski, Thanks for the link above, I haven't read it all yet, but find it very interesting. I had no idea that there were butterflies unique to that area. I love the Ozette area and try to get out there at least a couple of times a year.

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PostThu Jul 07, 2016 12:34 pm 
^ yeah... the Makah Copper Butterfly - found only up there at Ozette - in a human-created ecosystem that's being lost because the (almost) annual burning stopped about a century ago. that paper really is quite a fascinating read - bear in mind it deals with only a tiny area - and that the sort of activity described in it was happening pretty much everywhere on the North American continent just a couple centuries ago. WAnative I'd probably get lost trying to find that place - I don't generally venture off 101 out there on reservation land. I would imagine if the proposed project site is surrounded by clearcut lands it would be a fairly low-risk operation if timed correctly. and yes, there have been more than a few bridges/culverts installed that could have been planned better - replacing them usually seems to cost an inordinate amount of money - $30K for the one over Phelan Creek on the 2180-010 road. (47.595353, -124.047064)

"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach. I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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NacMacFeegle
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PostThu Jul 07, 2016 1:18 pm 
I hope we see more prairie restoration project throughout Western Washington in the near future. Of all of this region's ecosystems it is the prairies of which the least remains intact.

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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WANative
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PostThu Jul 07, 2016 9:31 pm 
NacMacFeegle wrote:
I hope we see more prairie restoration project throughout Western Washington in the near future. Of all of this region's ecosystems it is the prairies of which the least remains intact.
It's not worth the carbon pollution. Global Warming is a much more important issue to tackle.

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RodF
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PostFri Jul 08, 2016 12:14 pm 
WANative wrote:
It's not worth the carbon pollution. Global Warming is a much more important issue to tackle.
I agree this is a consideration. However, an ecosystem analysis has concluded that maintaining the current sedge fen / sphagnum bog environment is the best way to preserve its carbon storage capacity, as evidenced in 2 meters of peat containing charcoal layers dating as far back as 12,000 years to the end of the last ice age, as well as the endangered species and cultural values it supports.
Bach, Conca, Natural History of Ahlstroms & Rooses Prairies wrote:
Project Summary Analysis of soils and sediments deposited in the wetlands demonstrate that fire has occurred frequently on the prairies throughout the Holocene. Estimates of the fire return interval on the prairies over the last 2400 years are 166-266 years, while other studies in similar forest settings have found return intervals of 1000-6000 years. This significant difference in fire frequency strongly suggests anthropogenic activity. Since the prairies have experienced tree invasion since the cession of disturbance activities, we suggest that mitigation action, specifically prescribed fire, be taken in order to preserve the prairie vegetation communities that have existed for at least 2000 years. Management Recommendations The closer a forest system is managed to mimic the natural process in which it evolved, the more successful the management will be (Kauffman, 1990). Among our findings are three items which have management implications: The prairie wetlands in their current form have been present on the landscape for ~2000 years; a frequent fire regime was present during this time period, likely keeping trees from invading the wetlands; and modeling based on the rate of tree invasion since 1964 indicates that the prairies will infill with trees over the next 100 years. In order to maintain the prairies as openings, management intervention is recommended, specifically the reintroduction of fire.
The Precautionary Principle applies here: don't thoughtlessly discard an ecosystem that's been preserved for millennia. Realize that climate change forecast later in this and in coming centuries will mimic the early Holocene, in which these prairies originated (see page 33 in Bach & Conca). Their ecosystem diversity and resilience is an inherent value we should preserve.

"of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt" - John Muir "the wild is not the opposite of cultivated. It is the opposite of the captivated” - Vandana Shiva
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NacMacFeegle
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PostFri Jul 08, 2016 4:02 pm 
ditto.gif Well said Rod. up.gif

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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PostFri Jul 08, 2016 8:42 pm 
NacMacFeegle wrote:
I hope we see more prairie restoration project throughout Western Washington in the near future. Of all of this region's ecosystems it is the prairies of which the least remains intact.
up.gif

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