Smoke Effects on Animals

Wow, what a day!

Looking out across Noyac Bay from my window this morning, the air was orange-gray, smoky from a wash overnight with the smoke from the fires raging up north in Canada.

I am in my upper 80s and can’t remember a time in our history when the air has been so corrupted by smoke. I remember a few big fires to the west in the Pine Barrens, but they rarely lasted for more than the better part of a day. These ones in Canada have been burning for months, with no sign of stopping.

I don’t remember a time when Major League Baseball games or horse races and such were canceled, when so many public transportation flights were canceled, when so many people stayed inside because of the fear of smoke. It got so bad in the city that people were afraid to go out. At one point, the air in the city was equivalent to smoking 22 cigarettes in 24 hours!

And it happened on the heels of the COVID epidemic, too! Suddenly, a secondary use for that COVID mask that had never been used and that you never disposed of.

A lot of wild animals that can fly, and many of those that can run and travel relatively great distances, escaped, but what of all those that can’t?

I’m reminded of a study I always wanted to do on Long Island but never got around to: What happens to box turtles, salamanders, lizards and snakes under such conditions? How do any in the fire zone survive?

Although, such fire losses have rarely been measured, I’m sure very few of the very slow locomotors survive. But not only are our own fauna members impacted by these fires and their smoke — 120 million Americans, all east of the Mississippi, are impacted by these smoke-filled skies as well.

It’s not that we haven’t seen forest fires before. While living on the North Fork, we used to look to the west, south or southeast every three or four years to see what part of Long Island was burning. Two-thirds of Long Island was covered with pitch pine, and pitch pines are notoriously good burners. Right this moment, Long Island’s pitch pines are in a knock-down, drag-out fight for survival, as they are under attack by the southern pine borer, smaller than your common housefly.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of driving to Montauk from Noyac. I could hardly believe my eyes. Those pitch pines on both sides of Montauk Highway that reach all the way to Montauk’s Hither Woods are in serious trouble, under siege at the easternmost reach by the pine borer. We thought the Napeague stretch was safe. It wasn’t!

At the same time, hot spots under attack by the same little creature are suffering on both sides of Montauk Highway in Southampton Town and beyond. Apparently, our woods are in for a lot more abuse.

Thank God for the white pine. It has yet to suffer the slings and arrows of this tiny beetle from the southland.