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Re: "...warm us up... "

If one Googles "prescribed burning ticks," one finds about 6,400 hits, and
skimming the Google page indicates that prescribed burning does indeed help
control ticks.  That corresponds with my own experience.  However, I agree
that
local deer numbers make a big difference.

For anyone interested who has time, here's a detour on the subject of deer.
Some research indicates that some wildflower species start to suffer when
there are more than fifteen deer per square mile.  One experienced prairie
friend
told me that he can see wildflower damage when there are more than ten deer
per square mile.

But in two counties in my state (Iowa), the goal is to get deer densities
down to thirty deer per square mile.   That's the number at which public
complaints about deer start to really go up, but it's well above the
ecological damage
point.

I've read about certain local areas with more than 50 deer per square mile,
and about one Michigan park that had completely lost (permanently?) at least a
dozen wildflower species before sharpshooters were finally brought in.  A
naturalist in Michigan wrote an essay lamenting that she can no longer lead
bird
hikes in one park where she used to go, because the most interesting birds are
gone, having lost their habitat to deer.

I think deer overpopulation is one of the prairie/savanna problems that
warrants more concern than it usually gets.  One friend has seen a population
of
white ladies'-slippers practically wiped out by deer, and it's much harder
than
it used to be to find blooming Michigan lilies in some areas around here,
since the blossoms are deer favorites.

Unfortunately, the deer population issue is often framed in terms of the
economic benefits of deer hunting versus safety and economic damage issues,
while
ecological impacts are not discussed.   One problem is that much of the
general public doesn't recognize deer damage (or browse lines) in public
natural
areas, even when the damage is obvious from a botanical point of view.

A recent article in the journal SCIENCE predicted the extirpation of many
understory plants during the next century if current deer browsing rates
continue.   Of course the good news is that deer overpopulation is much easier
to
solve than a lot of other prairie/savanna problems, if there is public
willingness to do so.

Cindy


Cindy Hildebrand
grantridge@aol.com
Ames, IA  50010

"The Soil of Those Praries appears rich but much Parched with the frequent
fires."  (William Clark)

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