Pine Barrens Ecology Thrives, But Could Use a Little Fire - 27 East

Pine Barrens Ecology Thrives, But Could Use a Little Fire

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A scorched portion of the Pine Barrens in Westhampton shortly after the 1995 fire. PRESS FILE

A scorched portion of the Pine Barrens in Westhampton shortly after the 1995 fire. PRESS FILE

Shaun Ziegler, ecologist for the Central Pine Barrens Commission in the staging area cut by bulldozers during the 1995 fire.     BRYAN BOYHAN

Shaun Ziegler, ecologist for the Central Pine Barrens Commission in the staging area cut by bulldozers during the 1995 fire. BRYAN BOYHAN

A dwarf pine.   BRYAN BOYHAN

A dwarf pine. BRYAN BOYHAN

Shaun Ziegler, ecologist for the Central Pine Barrens Commission, looks down on a small ecosystem that thrives on the forest edge at the base of a dwarf pine.  BRYAN BOYHAN

Shaun Ziegler, ecologist for the Central Pine Barrens Commission, looks down on a small ecosystem that thrives on the forest edge at the base of a dwarf pine. BRYAN BOYHAN

Even though the area in the Pine Barrens in Westhampton has recovered, a few trees burned by the fire can still be seen 25-years later. DANA SHAW

Even though the area in the Pine Barrens in Westhampton has recovered, a few trees burned by the fire can still be seen 25-years later. DANA SHAW

Even though the area in the Pine Barrens in Westhampton has recovered, a few trees burned by the fire can still be seen 25-years later. DANA SHAW

Even though the area in the Pine Barrens in Westhampton has recovered, a few trees burned by the fire can still be seen 25-years later. DANA SHAW

Bryan Boyhan on Aug 18, 2020
By the time the fire had passed through, the landscape was blackened and, from the air, the earth appeared to have been scarred with a thick smudge. If the pines... more

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