Though it was once a typical practice, it's now been over 150 years since the last controlled burn happened on Minnesota Point. This spring, that's going to change.
"In the past 159 years... the materials have been accumulating in the forest. There's a lot of dead and downed material, a thicker dust layer," says Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek from Good Sky Guidance. "If there were to be a wildfire that started on Minnesota Point it would likely be a high intensity burn, which would have a lot of mortality in those trees." A prescribed burn would help treat the land, clear out a century and a half of pine needles, and decrease the possibility of a wildfire.
"Minnesota Point is a highly important place to, not only people today, but also to Ojibwe people who have resided here in this area for thousands of years," says Minogiizhigaabo Panek. "There were a lot of medicines to gather, a lot of blueberries to harvest, a lot of great things that were ecologically significant to the Ojibwe people." The point was ceded to the US through the Treaty of 1854. Since that transfer, Minnesota Point has not seen a controlled burn. The plans for a burn this year have garnered plenty of support from the community, The City of Duluth, and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.
Dates for the burn have not been set. The timeline will be determined by weather conditions. Humidity, temperature, and wind are a few of the factors to consider before committing to a burn date. Right now, the aim is to have the burn sometime in late April or early May. More information about Minnesota Point can be found online.
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