STATE OF CONNECTICUT TO CONDUCT MORE CONTROLLED BURNS  (click on title for link)

 If anyone has actually been reading this blog you may be thinking "There she goes again.  She seems somewhat obsessed with the concept of controlled burns".  Maybe I should attempt an explanation.  Shortly after we moved here, I found my first Indigenous tool while walking in one of the ploughed fields in town after a heavy rain. I felt a kind of awe at its discovery.  I never lived anywhere before where the evidence of past human occupation prior to the colonial era could be found on the surface right under my feet.  To be able to just pick it up and handle it was an extraordinary feeling.  Most often primary source material is a handwritten document. In this case the primary source material was made of stone.  Thousands of years ago a person's conceptual design and physical energy went into creating that stone tool, and thousands of years later I was holding it in my hand exactly as the day it was made. It gave me a feeling of connection to the past that I can't quite describe without sounding cheesy. I have been very interested in the life and culture of the Indigenous population that lived on these lands ever since.  Holding that tool encouraged me to take a fresh look at history. In school we were of course made aware that there were Native Americans here predating European settlement, and we learned something about how the two populations interacted, but actual Indigenous culture was a topic barely glossed over in many classrooms, at least during my years. European culture versus Indigenous culture was a clash of two very different life philosophies. In the instance of our country the primary culture ended up evolving in the European manner. Forests were clear cut and farms laid out in perfect squares.  Vast numbers of animals were killed solely for their fur.  Permanant structures were erected and then came the industrial age with its dams and mills. We can all see where it has led us today.  Nothing is perfect in any culture. I am not idolizing or elevating the Indigenous culture to any godlike status, surely it was not perfect, but it does seem obvious that Indigenous people had a way of connecting with their environment and for the most part adapting to it rather than making drastic alterations to the environment forcing the environment to adjust or adapt to their human presence. Yes, they made beneficial changes to their environment which allowed them an upper hand in hunting and growing crops, but close observation of their environment was one of their strengths.  Observing natural phenomena such as what the impact to the land was after a lightning strike and subsequent brush fire and watching closely which plants perished and which useful plants grew more with more vigor, carefully watching the ways fire improved the land that provided their sustenance.  They were then able to simulate that phenomenon using fire, a natural method borrowed from nature, to duplicate the results. It has been well documented by early European settlers upon their arrival that many old growth forests were clear of underbrush providing an almost park like setting, and that there were open grassy fields as well as agricultural fields planted with crops such as beans and corn.  Even Thoreau, in the mid 1800's, 175 years ago, after the first industrial revolution, mourned the loss of the open old growth forests and the variety of wildlife they once harbored. I encourage you to visit the areas the State of Connecticut DEEP is attempting to restore using this ancient method.  It will be interesting to observe the changes to them as they appear.