Designing and implementing a pre-burn monitoring protocol for Wisconsin Point

Abstract

Wisconsin Point is a baymouth bar separating the St. Louis River Estuary from Lake Superior. Its forests have long been stewarded by Ojibwe people, including regular use of ishkode (fire) on the landscape before fire suppression over the last 150 years. Pine forests are fire-dependent. Fires encourage growth of pyrogenic plants like red pine and blueberry. This monitoring project is part of plans to reintroduce cultural prescribed fire to Wisconsin Point. Burns are currently planned at two sites on Wisconsin Point: a dense red pine plantation (expected spring 2026) and a roadside mixed stand of older growth red and white pines (in fall 2025). We developed a pre- and post-burn vegetation monitoring plan which will allow the team to assess whether project goals are met.