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since the suppression of fire, and a complete domination of the understory by buckthorn,” he said.
“ We have been trying to work on this buckthorn problem spreading across this state that is degrading the habitat and productive value of the land for profit( i. e., farming),” Carlson said.“ We have used machinery to cut down the buckthorn into woodchips, painted stems with herbicides, used competition( i. e., planted native seedlings), and cattle grazing. Fire used to be part of these systems and a critical component of preserving these oak savannahs.”
Through the years, the idea of using fire kept coming up in conversation across the natural resource community.
“ A fire needs assessment stated that we need to burn with prescribed fire about a million acres a year in Minnesota. Currently, we only burn 50,000 acres a year,” Carlson said.
“ In order to reach that goal, we need to reach private land owners to bring fire back safely to Minnesota. We have not used fire in over 100 years. We have used fire suppression. The Smokey Bear
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ad campaign advertised fire suppression for good reason but the idea that‘ all fire is bad’ just sort of kicks the can down the road. Without the use of fire, we end up with ecosystems that have become degraded due to the encroachment of brush( shrubs) and other trees that weren’ t there historically.”
When these fires are suppressed, flammable materials such as brush and fallen trees accumulate and provide fuel for dangerous and intense wildfires as we have seen in Canada and northern Minnesota.
One way to keep the landscape healthy is using prescribed burns that are planned, controlled, and conducted under strict safety rules.
“ We have a PBA, Prescribed Burn Association, which is a non-profit at the state level and there are chapters forming up locally throughout the state,” Carlson said.
Groups of landowners are trying to organize themselves and figure out the structure, training, and best practices for prescribed burns. Other states have PBAs but Minnesota is just catching up.
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“ PBAs use a neighbor-to-neighbor approach to help landowners access equipment and training and help each other with their burns.‘ You help me with my burn and I’ ll help you down the road with your burn.’ We build community. Get burns done as cost effectively as possible,” Carlson said.
There is a two-to-five-year burn frequency depending on the plants on the land.
“ Buckthorn seeds can remain viable in the soil for up to five years. Buckthorn is quite adaptive to fire. You have to wear that plant out with multiple fires. Fire doesn’ t fix everything but it’ s a good tool, he said.
There is a long story that led to this situation today.“ In the 1970s and 1980s cattle were removed from pastures and stuck in the barn. Buckthorn then took over the pastures. A better method is to move cattle from pasture to pasture. Portable electric fencing helps make moving the herds easier these days for rotational grazing,” said Carlson.
It’ s not just buckthorn that is a noxious weed problem.
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Hazelnut is a native plant but there are places in Minnesota where it’ s taking over the understory and displacing grasses and forbs. The black locust tree is on the Minnesota Noxious Weed List because it has invaded land in southeastern Minnesota. The Noxious Weed List can be found on the Minnesota Department of Agriculture website at: https:// www. mda. state. mn. us / minnesota-noxious-weed-list.
“ We need to figure out how best to have cattle graze on the land while maintaining the biodiversity of the land. If managed correctly, I have seen it work out. We can provide cleaner water, too. Not all land is grazed every year just like we wouldn’ t use fire every year,” said Carlson.“ There is still so much to learn. We will try things and adapt. We are not going to fix this in a decade. It took 150 years to wreck the oak savannahs; we’ ll need 30 or 40 years to begin to fix it.”
“ We need to be good stewards of the landscape. There is some research that shows possible reduction in tick populations over time on landscapes managed with frequent fire,” said Carlson.
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