Pinnacle Mountain fire good for mountain’s health Tuesday, February 24, 2009

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The prescribed burn at Pinnacle Mountain State Park took place as scheduled on Monday Feb 23. A group of professionals from The Nature Conservancy along with State Park and USFS people “lit” the mountain starting at the top around 11:20 AM. When the igniters retreated to the base trail, they then lit the perimeter. The process went perfectly as planned and the entire (approx 640 acres) area above the base trail was burned by 3:30 PM. Since the burn went ahead of schedule they were able to also burn the Kingfisher Trail area from Hwy 300 to the boat launch area including areas below the base trail from the West Summit to the boat launch.

CAMN volunteers Bill Toland and Bert Turner were present that day to assist in the coordination of event. Bert Turner made available to all members of the burn teams a detailed GPS generated topical map that he made of the planned burn area. This valuable tool was extremely helpful in the placing of teams and equipment in precise locations easily identifiable on the map. This burn would not have progressed as quickly and safely without it.

The work that the CAMN volunteers did in advance of the burn which included the clearing of trees, debris, and leaf litter from around park buildings, residences, and fuel storage areas along with clearing a 10 ft wide base trail perimeter around the mountain (and the summit trails) made it possible for the burn to happen. Thanks to  Bert Turner (who led the effort), Anne Massey, Martha Bowden, Dave Danner, Linda Saylor, Bill Toland, Katherine Becker,and Tom Stramel.

The fuel load that has collected over the years (this was the first ever control burn for PMSP) was eliminated and this will ensure the safety of mountain hikers from uncontrolled fires in the future . The leaf litter elimination will enable the land to reclaim its natural plantlife and provide food and cover for the animals who live in the park.

Since this was a “cold” fire with flames no more than three feet high for the most part, the mature trees are in good shape. You will find the burned areas on the mountain to look better than you would think….more exposure of the beautiful rocks that were covered with leaf litter. The spring rains and the flooding of the Kingfisher Trail area will enable these areas to recoup quickly.

The healthy preservation of wildlife areas in the state of Arkansas is what we do.

CAMN members should take pride in their important part of this process.

Written by Master Naturalist Bill Toland.  Picture by MN Martha Bowden.  More pictures in the flicker photo taken by various people.

Master Naturalists join Ouachita Mountain Hikers at Bell Slough Sunday, February 8, 2009

The Ouachita Mountain Hikers  ( http://www.omhikers.net/ ) and four Master Naturalists:  Bruce Walls, Dave Danner, Linda Saylor and Martha Bowden, met at Bell Slough for a morning hike on Saturday, Feb 7th.

In this day when you can go anywhere with the aid of a computer, it is good to actually spend time with others and share our world in person.  It did take a few emails to put the hike together and we are grateful for Loretta and her organizational skills.    We didn’t hike the trail, we consciously meandered along the path stopping to see the trees such as the bur oak or winged elm, the birds and the other wildlife (dead raccoon).

After the hike, we ate at O’Henry’s, a small restaurant just outside of Mayflower on the way to Conway.  With good food, more stories were shared and friendships were made.

Master Naturalists website is at:  http://home.arkansasmasternaturalists.org You  can be a master naturalist by getting your application in by January 2010.  Check the website for more details.