Prescribed Burning in State Park Properties of North Carolina and Nearby Coastal States
John B. Taggart
J. Marshall Ellis
James D. Sprouse
Prescribed burning has been used by the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation (DPR) since 1974 to reduce hazardous fuel loads, to restore/maintain specific habitats, and to preserve rare species populations within state parks, recreation areas, and natural areas. System-wide staff training, development of burn prescriptions, and burning procedures were mandated according to agency guidelines. During 2002-2007, prescribed burns within state park properties were conducted mostly in the coastal plain, but system-wide coverage was far less than adequate to maintain fire-dependent communities. The number of hectares treated per year as a percentage of the number needing treatment decreased yearly. In addition to weather conditions, common obstacles to achieving burning goals included conflicts with other responsibilities, lack of trained staff/dedicated funding, and increasing wildland-urban interfaces. Prescribed burning data and associated information from state parks and natural areas in Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida indicated that interagency burning agreements, full-time burning staff, and use of contractors have improved burning results significantly in recent years. Prescribed fire councils have served as advocates for prescribed burning at state-wide levels, while prescribed burning legislation has helped to limit smoke and, in some states, fire damage liability. Suggested enhancements for the DPR prescribed burn program include: use of both internal and external burning organizations, development of cooperative agreements with analogous programs, pursuit of earmarked state funds and outside grants, expansion of staff burn training, active participation in prescribed fire advocacy groups, and site-specific public information/education to address local concerns and to promote benefits of prescribed burning.
History, Administration, Goals, Value, and Long-Term Data of Russia’s Strictly Protected Scientific Nature Reserves
Martin A. Spetich
Anna E. Kvashnina
Y. D. Nukhimovskya
Olin E. Rhodes, Jr.
One of the most comprehensive attempts at biodiversity conservation in Russia and the former Soviet Union has been the establishment of an extensive network of protected natural areas. Among all types of protected areas in Russia, zapovedniks (strictly protected scientific preserves) have been the most effective in protecting biodiversity at the ecosystem scale. Russia has 101 zapovedniks with a total area of 34.3 million ha, representing 2% of Russian territory. The mission of zapovedniks is to protect native biodiversity and ecosystem processes as well as to facilitate the study of natural ecosystem processes and functions. In this manuscript, we provide a brief history of Russian ecosystem preservation and outline the goals and administrative organization of the Russian zapovednik system as it currently functions, as well as the characteristics, problems, and values of the system.