Michigan Prescribed Fire Model

Michigan Natural Features Inventory (MNFI) and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MIDNR) Wildlife Division have been collaborating since 2018 to develop a prescribed fire needs assessment of state lands.

This modeling work addresses MNFI’s mission to guide the conservation of Michigan’s biodiversity for current and future generations by providing the highest quality scientific expertise and information and the DNR Wildlife Division’s complementary mission to enhance, restore and conserve the State’s wildlife resources, natural communities, and ecosystems for the benefit of Michigan’s citizens, visitors, and future generations.

In addition, MNFI has collaborated with the U.S. Forest Service, Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and expanded the modeling effort beyond state lands to the Huron-Manistee National Forest, Fort Custer Training Center and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Reservation.

The model can be used to look at trends at multiple scales, to illustrate both site-specific management opportunities as well as regional patterns. Fire needs in Michigan are geographically variable at multiple scales. At the statewide scale, fire needs increase moving from north to south, and a large proportion of state lands have no need for prescribed fire management. Our model indicates the highest need for fire occurs in the Southern Lower Peninsula of Michigan, and the lowest need for fire occurs in the Upper Peninsula. Furthermore, the need for fire is highest in the Southwest Management Region.

In addition to site‐specific guidance, the model can provide land managers a framework for grappling with difficult questions critical for their restoration work. By illustrating the disparity of the ecological need for fire and the actual application of fire, we hope that the model can enlighten policy makers tasked with funding and structuring burning programs. By identifying regional patterns of fire need the model can advance broad‐scale planning efforts. By highlighting specific sites in need of fire management, the model can help direct on‐the‐ground implementation of prescribed fire.

Model results are readily available at multiple scales for natural resource managers through MNFI’s Rx Fire Model App, designed using ArcGIS Experience Builder. Below we provide the application and encourage interested individuals to explore prescribed fire needs across Michigan's state lands.