Illustration by Spencer High
By Marie Orttenburger
Michigan doesn’t burn enough.
That’s the conclusion of a recent assessment published by the Michigan Natural Features Inventory, which looked at the ecological need for fire across Michigan’s state-owned lands.
More prescribed fire is necessary to support the continued health and biodiversity of many Michigan ecosystems. But getting there is not without its challenges.
The second installment of this week’s series on the past, present and future of fire in Michigan can be read here.
Read part one: Tree-ring research illuminates early fire history of Lower Michigan