Ulrich Thesis Submitted Jan. 11:18
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Prescribed Fire and Design: Two Biocultural Design Case Studies from Northwestern Ontario by Kurtis Ulrich A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree of MASTER OF NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Natural Resource Institute Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2M6 Copyright ã 2018 by Kurtis Ulrich ABSTRACT This thesis presents a review of two prescribed burns undertaken in northwestern Ontario. The purpose of this research was to explore the design elements that influenced the prescribed burns utilizing a biocultural design. Biocultural design is a framework for exploring and designing cultural landscapes by considering descriptive and evaluative design elements. Design elements were used to guide the semi-structured interviews and organize the data. Interviews were conducted with community members and fire personnel. The key findings of this research are that there are cultural areas and practices that should be included in future prescribed burn designs. However, there are operational limitations and biological and cultural factors that limit the feasibility of the prescribed burn’s outcomes. The conclusion of this research is that future prescribed burns will benefit from a more intentional designing process that includes cultural elements from the community along with biological and operational factors. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the participants from the community of Wabaseemong and the OMNRF. This project would not have been possible without the time they took to participate in my research and share from their experiences. There are numerous people at the Natural Resource Institute whose support has been essential to the completion of this project. I would like to thank my advisor, Iain Davidson-Hunt for his support and encouragement, as well as his direction and insights. I would also like to acknowledge my thesis committee John Sinclair and Jonathan Peyton, for the attention they paid to my thesis and their advice. I am grateful for the help and friendly assistance that I consistently received from the Natural Resource Institute staff, Dalia Naguib, Tamara Keedwell, and Jason Northgate. Lastly, I would like to thank my family, their support, encouragement, and advice through the course of this research was instrumental in its completion, thank you. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................... III LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................... VII LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................ VIII ACRONYMS ....................................................................................................................................... VIII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 RESEARCH PURPOSE, QUESTIONS, AND CONTRIBUTIONS ........................................................................... 10 1.3 STUDY AREA .................................................................................................................................... 11 1.4 CASE STUDY SELECTION ...................................................................................................................... 13 1.5 METHODS ....................................................................................................................................... 14 1.6 STUDY SIGNIFICANCE ......................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................................................... 17 2.1 FIRE IN THE BOREAL FOREST ................................................................................................................ 17 2.2 PRESCRIBED BURNING AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL .................................................................................... 25 2.3 COLLABORATIVE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................ 31 2.4 BIOCULTURAL DESIGN ........................................................................................................................ 34 2.5 BIOCULTURAL DESIGN PROCESS ........................................................................................................... 39 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................. 47 3.1 PHILOSOPHICAL WORLDVIEW .............................................................................................................. 47 3.2 STRATEGY OF INQUIRY ....................................................................................................................... 49 3.5 DATA COLLECTION METHODS .............................................................................................................. 52 3.5.1 DESIGN WORKSHOPS ............................................................................................................................. 52 3.5.2 SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS ............................................................................................................... 53 3.6 DATA ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................................ 55 3.7 SAMPLING ....................................................................................................................................... 56 3.8 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE STUDY ............................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER 4: WIN CASE STUDY ............................................................................................................ 58 4.1 WIN PB: DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN ELEMENTS ............................................................................................. 59 4.2 WIN PB: MATERIALS ........................................................................................................................ 60 4.2.1 MATERIALS: COMMUNITY MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................... 61 4.2.2 MATERIALS: OPERATIONAL MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS .............................................................................. 63 iv 4.2.3 MATERIALS: GRASS PROPERTIES CONTRIBUTING TO FIRE RISK ....................................................................... 67 4.3 WIN PB VALUES .............................................................................................................................. 69 4.3.1 VALUES: COMMUNITY VALUES ................................................................................................................ 70 4.3.1a Values at Risk .................................................................................................................................. 70 4.3.1b Plant Gathering ............................................................................................................................... 74 4.3.1c Consultation and Capacity Building ................................................................................................ 77 4.3.2 VALUES: OPERATIONAL VALUES ............................................................................................................... 81 4.3.2a Operational Objectives ................................................................................................................... 82 4.3.2b Safe Implementation ...................................................................................................................... 85 4.4 WIN PB TECHNIQUES ....................................................................................................................... 87 4.4.1 TECHNIQUES: OMNRF PB GUIDELINES .................................................................................................... 88 4.4.2 TECHNIQUES: IGNITION METHODS ........................................................................................................... 90 4.4.3 TECHNIQUES: PRESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................... 93 4.5 WIN PB: EVALUATIVE DESIGN ELEMENTS .............................................................................................. 98 4.6 WIN PB DESIRABILITY ....................................................................................................................... 99 4.7 WIN PB FEASIBILITY ....................................................................................................................... 103 4.7.1 TECHNIQUES INFLUENCING FEASIBILITY ................................................................................................... 103 4.7.2 MATERIALS