Fire History Field Day
- nafsehelp
- Jun 24
- 3 min read
June 12, 2026 - Three years since its initial kick-off meeting online, the NAFSE Northeast Fire & Fire History Working Group held its first in-person event. The overall objective for the Fire History Field Day was to showcase interdisciplinary research and cooperation, and how fire and human history can inform land management. We gathered at White Lake State Park in the Ossipee Mountain region of New Hampshire. This area is an ecosystem mosaic of hardwood forest, wetlands, sandy pine barrens, and low-lying mountains that have supported fire for millennia.
The day started with circling up for introductions, and an overview of local ecosystems from Peter Bowman, Sabrina Stanwood, and John Neely of the NH Dept of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR). Dendrochronologist Chris Guiterman gave an overview of fire-adapted trees in the Northeast, and showed several examples of tree-ring fire scars. From there, we walked into the pitch pine - scrub oak woodland, where Peter led a discussion on the hardwood and eastern white pine encroachment at the site. The next stop was a cluster of kettle bogs and ponds on the western edge of the park. Plymouth State University researchers and partners had taken a sediment core from one site two winters ago. Student Maggie DelBove presented her results on several thousand years of charcoal deposits at the site.
Left - Plymouth State Univ student Maggie DelBove presents a charcoal record of a nearby kettle pond with her advisor Simon Pendleton. Right - Chris Guiterman uses a freshly-cut red pine surface to describe its history to the group. Photo credit: Eric Evenson
After our lunch stop, Chris Guiterman showed two fire-scarred stumps still in situ in the woods, and cut a fresh surface with a chainsaw to show the tree’s history. The group then joined NH State Archaeologist Mark Doperalski, who was in the process of setting up excavation grids for a summer archaeological field school. He described how the site is expected to yield several lithics and evidence for stone tool use, since White Lake SP is close to the volcanic remnants of the Ossipee Mountains.
Left - Michael Crawford of the Nature Conservancy shares with the group how the Ossipee Pine Barrens are managed with prescribed fire. Right - Mark Doperalski (NH DNCR) describes ancient stone tool-making at the site of an upcoming field school. Photo credit: Katie Glover
At the end of the day, we left White Lake SP to tour the nearby Ossipee Pine Barrens with Michael Crawford of the Nature Conservancy. Mike discussed how he has cultivated community support for a prescribed fire program that helps maintain this globally rare natural community.
It was an enriching day to learn about techniques used to reconstruct fire and human history, and hear from land managers on current and future practice. We had 26 participants from both the local community and out of state who braved the humidity and mosquitoes together, and brought no shortage of questions.
Fire History Field Day presenters and attendees after the program at White Lake State Park. Photo credit: Eric Evenson
The day’s agenda and list of speakers (with affiliations) can be found at the Fire History Field Day event page.
Resources
Building a Fire History with Fire-scarred Trees (Chris Guiterman)
Pitch Pine at White Lake State Park (Peter Bowman and Sabrina Stanwood, NH DNCR)
