If we want healthy ecosystems, we must balance the human demands of nature with the ecosystem’s capacity to provide it. For centuries, eastern Canada has experienced massive fire suppression, nearly complete loss of cultural fire, clearing for agriculture and homesteading, planting of non-native trees species for timber harvesting and so many other disturbances to its natural ecology. La Mauricie National Park is trying to right some of those wrongs and bring balance back to the landscape. This podcast details the last 30 years of prescribed fire in La Mauricie National Park and the lessons they have learned.
Your Forest Podcast by Matthew Kristoff
Prescribed Fire In National Parks with Michel Thériault and Elisabeth Caron
Episode highlight
Michel Thériault and Elisabeth Caron speak about using prescribed fire to manage the health of forests.
Resources
Restoration in Quebec’s Forests: https://www.iawfonline.org/article/7811/
La Mauricie National Park Fire Map Story: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/qc/mauricie/nature/conservation/restauration-restoration/feu-fire/carte-narrative-story-map
Sponsors
West Fraser: https://www.westfraser.com/
GreenLink Forestry Inc.: http://greenlinkforestry.com/
Damaged Timber: https://www.damagedtimber.com/
Giveaway
Enter YourForest10 at checkout at the Damaged Timber store for a 10% discount!
Quotes
37.21 - 37.45: “Knowing what was there before when we came, we can use it as a reference and try to at least keep some of those - try to bring back some of those - pine forests for their value, for biodiversity and also proactively thinking of what’s going to be the condition in 50 years with the climate change now.” (Michel)
1.16.37 - 1.16.50: “When people realize that there is a natural… fire, it’s like the wind, it’s like the snow, it’s like a storm… you cannot stop the storm, you cannot stop the winds, so you cannot stop the fire.” (Elisabeth)
1.32.59 - 1.33.04: “There’s a lot more to learn when you fail than when you succeed.” (Michel)
Takeaways
Starting from ground zero (05.28)
Michel studied wildlife management and forest ecology - renewable resources - and was inspired by his fellow student’s research on the fish population at the same time that Parks Canada created a marine park. It was a profitable time to work with Parks Canada, as well as the beginning of the prescribed fire program. He got a job with some related experience in fire ecology just after 1991 and trained to become the prescribed fire expert he is today.
Out of the bush and into the fire (09.01)
Michel grew up in a remote region of Quebec and spent a lot of time fishing, hunting and in the outdoors. Working with Parks Canada was his dream job, with his first winter in 1992 spent studying black bears, after which he moved to prescribed fires. He claims that forest science exploded in the 80s, and his region in Quebec became the only place east of Ontario doing prescribed fires in the 90s.
Slowly but surely (14.19)
Michel is appreciative of the support that the province provided on fire prevention and suppression, without it being their mandate to do so. The park he was working on had been treated and selectively logged before, and even farmed. They experimented with using fire to replace plantations with natural forests. The process has been slow but there has been cooperation from partners and effective communication with visitors to the park.
The hills are alive with fire (17.28)
Michel cites the research of the 80s and 90s by universities and Canadian forestry as one of the big parts of his work on the fire regime in the park to understand the landscape. The Canadian Shield has rolling hills with creeks, rivers and lakes and a variety of trees. He describes the composition of the forest cover in the area that he works in. He recalls that fire has been used to manage lands since the 20s.
The good old days (25.40)
Michel tells the story of the land since the 1950s - where logging companies managed much of the land, and fishing and hunting clubs thrived. This helped in the fire management plan as well. Today, the pre-industrial forest is used as a baseline to guide the prescribed fire program. Some old trees can be used as seedling trees in the fire regime, in an attempt to emulate the forests of yore.
Managing land the right way (32.24)
Michel highlights the values at risk to be factored in while planning a fire regime - climate change, new insects and diseases of the trees. He explains how white pine blister rust spread many years ago, and how it has impacted white pine regeneration. There is no way to really go back to how the land was managed in the past. He notes that we “have to be cautious of doing our best with the knowledge we have” and learn from First Nations land custodians.
Adaptive land management (39.04)
Michel explains that after the prescribed fire regime, treatment, pruning and active planting take place. The learning has been around getting used to the prescribed fire techniques in plantation removal. The focus is on having natural forests replace the plantation without invasive species growing back. With practice, research, lessons from the USA, cooperation from multiple stakeholders, and learning from their mistakes, the program is now starting to show progress.
Challenges and opportunities (48.11)
Michel points out that prescribed fires may be confusing for visitors who go canoeing to the park, but that is a teaching moment to educate them on prescribed fires and their role in forest restoration and biodiversity protection. It is a tough balance between effective but intensive fires and controllable but weak fires. He plans his work according to the seasons, factoring in humidity, wind, climate and which species respond well in which season.
Fire brings life (56.23)
Michel shares a biodiversity study that investigated the insect population in the park before and after the prescribed fire. It was found that insect re-colonization occurred within hours of the prescribed fire since those insects were fire-dependent. This new community of insects would stay at that site for the next 5-7 years. He shares some other learnings about insect behaviour related to trees.
Developing connections for knowledge (1.03.47)
There are prescribed fire projects being developed in collaboration with local First Nations, based on the location and proximity to the park, Michel says. Historically, First Nations communities have used fire to manage the landscape and cultivate crops. He has worked with First Nations to trace their use of fire for hunting purposes too. He would like to see Parks Canada promote this knowledge sharing to inform future fire management plans.
Let’s talk about fire (1.15.18)
Elisabeth joined the prescribed fire program in 2016 and found that some people agreed with their work and some were opposed to it. People also misinterpret how the site looks or feel afraid of fire. She believes talking about the natural role of fire will help people feel engaged with the program. It is a “never-ending job” to explain to people the objectives and benefits of putting fires back into the forest in a safe way, she sighs. Sensitive communication is key.
The forest family (1.21.40)
Elisabeth’s message is that we need young forests too, along with the beautiful old forests, just like a family needs many generations to thrive. Prescribed fire puts the ‘children’ into the forest for its longevity. It is also important to explain to the public why fire is being put back into the forest when there is so much effort being done to suppress fires. It takes patience and effective communication channels to get the message across.
“Be adaptive, be ready to fail and try something else” (1.27.05)
Michel says that understanding the fire regime, the landscape, and its fire history is important, and starting small helps. He warns against impatience with results and the fear of failure in this work. He recommends managing one’s expectations and being adaptive and patient with prescribed fire. Michel believes that if you succeed from the beginning, you may not know what you are doing right. But by failing, you understand what is not working and then fix it.
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