Endangered Species Habitat Creation Reduces Wildfire Threat

By Catherine Salm on Jan 1, 2010

A project to create habitat for the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly in the Huron-Manistee National Forests has also reduced the risk of catastrophic wildfire.

A project to create habitat for the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly in the Huron-Manistee National Forests has also reduced the risk of catastrophic wildfire. The project was designed as a scientific study by Baldwin/White Cloud District wildlife biologist Heather Keough, Ph.D. and consisted of the creation of nineteen, eight acre "habitat blocks". Existing vegetation was removed within each "habitat block" to create oak/pine savannas/barrens that would support persistent Karner blue butterfly populations.

Each "habitat block" was subdivided into four, two acre plots. Three plots from each "habitat block" were treated using one of three types of mechanical equipment: bulldozer with a blade and root rake, shear cutter mounted to a skid steer, or masticator mounted to a skid steer. The fourth plot from each "habitat block" was left untreated.

In addition to the creation of butterfly habitat, the project also served to reduce the threat of wildfire by the creation of a fuels treatment strategy known as "Finney Bricks." The fuels treatment was developed by Mark Finney, Ph.D. at the USDA Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Research Station in Missoula, MT. The Finney strategy consists of removing hazardous fuels from designated blocks across the landscape in a pattern that will never allow a wildfire to gain momentum. The treated blocks are positioned much like a checker board and unlike traditional, linear fuel breaks are much more effective.

"Finney Bricks" created in the Boundary Waters Wilderness Area have been credited with the successful control of the 15,000 Cavity Lake Fire in July of 2006. Superior National Forest officials estimate the fire would have doubled in size without the Finney Brick treatments.

The habitat/fuels project was planned by an interdisciplinary team and implemented by fire personnel. The successful completion of the project is a result of interdisciplinary cooperation and creative resource management. Such integrated approaches are essential to protect sensitive resources, such as habitat for the Karner blue butterfly, from catastrophic wildfires.