Although “Brush fire devastates 100 acres in preserve” (Metro, Nov. 1) made for a very captivating headline, it was a wholly inaccurate description of the effects of fire on natural areas such as the Thorn Creek Nature Preserve.
Fire only devastates an area in which it is not needed. A fire devastates a house and family, but in Thorn Creek, fire rejuvenates. Much of Thorn Creek is oak woodland, a system that depends on fire for survival. Firefighter Mike Behrens noted that “you have years and years of undergrowth in there. . .” and fire officials said that weather conditions and “a layer of undergrowth that had been unburned for more than a decade made for perfect wildfire conditions.” It was precisely the lack of regular fire that allowed the undergrowth to accumulate. Furthermore this undergrowth also prevents new oak trees from growing, and it kills the grasses and wildflowers that beautify and prevent soil erosion. Fire is a natural feature of these woods, and without regular fire the woods degrade from their natural state.
The type of fire and the coverage of the fire are analogous to the ones that occurred in 1988 at Yellowstone National Park. Described at the time as a devastating and terrible event, only a few spoke the fact that it was decades of fire suppression that created the extraordinarily large fires. Even fewer media outlets returned to Yellowstone in the coming years to see the result of the “devastation”–reborn meadows, carpets of wildflowers and a park whose ecological health was better than it had been in years.
The Sierra Club was instrumental in creating the Thorn Creek Nature Preserve and saving it from development some 30 years ago. It is, however, not truly preserved. This and all our natural areas face a growing threat from non-native species and native species run amok because of human actions. Without proper management, including the use of brush cutting and prescribed fire, Thorn Creek and other forest preserves across the region will slowly be destroyed.
Fortunately the important role of fire and other management tools in preserving our natural areas has been recognized. The recent release of the Biodiversity Recovery Plan by the Chicago Wilderness, a coalition of more than 90 organizations including Sierra Club, calls for managing land so that biodiversity is protected. Only by doing so will places like Thorn Creek finally become preserved.
