Gavin said that controlled "cool" fires are not a threat to ground squirrels, which are safely hibernating several feet underground when controlled fires are set.
"We know this runs counter to everything Smoky the Bear taught us," Sherman said. "But we think Smoky was worried about careless campers and cigarettes, not the natural fires that are set by lightning. Ironically, we've become so good at fire suppression that many forests are tinder boxes of underbrush and non-native vegetation. Now, when a fire gets out of control it really is a threat to wildlife.
"The Idaho ground squirrels are part of an ecosystem that functioned successfully for tens of thousands of years, and natural fires were a part of that system, too," Sherman said. "Perhaps by undoing some of mankind's tampering -- as well-meaning as it was -- and setting back the clock, we can encourage the re-establishment of native flora and fauna, especially the rodent variety, while saving the immense costs of fighting catastrophic fires every summer."
Authors of the Journal of Mammalogy report, "Population Genetic Structure of the Northern Idaho Ground Squirrel," are Gavin, Sherman, Yensen and May, formerly a research associate in Cornell's Department of Natural Resources and now a researcher in the Department of Animal Science at University of California at Davis. The genetics study was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Geographic Society, Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the OX Ranch.
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Contact: Roger Segelken
hrs2@cornell.edu
607-255-9736
Cornell University News Service
3-May-1999